THE 

SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 

TREATISE  UPON  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION, 

BY  EDWARD  ATKINSON,  LL.D.,  PH.D. 


THE    ALADDIN    OVEN, 

INVENTED   BY  EDWARD   ATKINSON. 

WHAT    IT   IS.     WHAT    IT    DOES.     HOW   IT    DOES    IT. 


DIETARIES   CAREFULLY  COMPUTED  c 

UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF  MRS.  ELLEN  H.  RICHARDS. 

TESTS  OF  THE   SLOW   METHODS  OF  COOKING 
IN  THE  ALADDIN  OVEN, 

BY    MRS.  MARY    H.  ABEL   AND   MISS    MARIA  DANIELL, 

WITH   INSTRUCTIONS  AND   RECIPES. 

NUTRITIVE  VALUES  OF  FOOD  MATERIALS, 

COLLATED   FROM   THE  WRITINGS   OF  PROF.  W.  O.  ATWATER. 


APPENDIX: 

LETTERS   AND    REPORTS. 

FIFTH  THOUSAND. 
BOSTON; 

Ws^t  ©lU  Corner  ^oafestote* 

1895  . 


5<iV\3 


Copyright,  1892, 
By  Edward  Atkinson. 


Presswork  by 
S.  J.  Parkhill  &  Co.,  Boston,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE   TO    FOURTH    EDITION. 


I  am  now  convinced  that  in  the  invention  of  the  Aladdin  Oven  a  princij)le  has  been 
disclosed  by  which  the  most  arduous,  time-wasting  and  exhaustive  work  of  the  household 
may  be  very  greatly  alleviated  with  beneficial  results  of  many  kinds,  especially  in  pro- 
moting health. 

The  principle  on  which  the  Aladdin  Oven  is  constructed  is  that  heat  may  be  boxed 
up.  In  other  words,  the  heat  generated  from  the  combustion  of  a  small  quantity  of 
liquid  or  gaseous  fuel  can  be  held  and  accumulated  within  a  case,  box  or  oven  of  which 
the  outer  walls  are  made  of  non-heat-conducting  material.  If  this  principle  is  tenable, 
then  all  metallic  ovens  must  be  condemned,  because  there  is  no  metal  that  is  not  a  quick 
conductor  of  heat.  Suitable  materials  for  constructing  heat-chambers  or  ovens  may  either 
be  wood  properly  protected  against  ignition  on  the  inside,  wood  pulp,  compounds  of  mag- 
nesia, fossil  meal  or  non-heat-conducting  clays,  or  a  recent  form  of  asbestos  paper  crimped 
so  as  to  hold  entrapped  air. 

I  was  not  at  first  aware  of  the  grave  importance  of  this  principle,  and  did  not  fully 
comprehend  the  fact  that,  if  it  should  be  established,  it  must  work  a  complete  revolution 
in  the  construction  of  cooking  apparatus  of  almost  every  kind.  . 

The  food  problem  is  of  paramount  importance,  both  in  the  production  of  food  ma- 
terial, and  in  the  preparation  and  application  of  a  measured  degree  of  heat  under  control 
and  regulation  for  the  conversion  of  food  material  into  nutritious  food  in  the  process  of 
cooking.  There  is  no  other  branch  of  work  on  which  our  material  existence  depends  of 
such  absolute  importance  —  no  other  work  to  which  science  has  been  applied  more  ade- 
quately than  to  the  preparation  and  distribution  of  food  material  —  no  other  occupation 
now  demanding  such  scientific  treatment  as  that  of  agriculture  and  no  process  in  which 
science  has  been  so  much  wanting  until  a  very  recent  period  as  that  of  cooking.  For  lack 
of  science  in  the  domestic  kitchen  a  very  large  part  of  the  science  and  energy  exerted  in 
all  the  preceding  processes  are  now  worse  than  wasted. 

In  a  broad  and  general  way  it  may  be  stated  that  nearly  one-half  the  whole  number 
of  those  who  are  listed  in  the  Census  as  occupied  for  gain  are  employed  as  farmers  or 
farm  laborers.  Supt.  F.  A.  Walker  of  the  Census  of  1880  was  of  opinion  that  a  large 
number  of  those  who  were  listed  under  the  general  title  of  laborers  were  in  fact  mainly 
employed  in  agriculture :  if  these  were  added,  the  proportion  would  have  been  fully  one- 


4  ,  THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 

half.  A  very  large  proportion  of  those  occuiDiecl  under  the  head  of  manufactures  were 
engaged  in  the  conversion  of  the  crude  products  of  the  farm  into  flour,  meal,  dressed, 
salted  and  canned  meats,  dairy  products  and  other  analogous  occupations.  It  is  a  matter 
of  observation  that  fully  one-half  of  all  who  are  occupied  in  trade  are  employed  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  food.  Food  products  constitute  one-half  or  more  of  the  freight  moved  by 
railways. 

Finally,  the  cost  of  food  material  ranges  from  forty  to  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  family 
expenditures  of  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  population,  the  proportion  increasing  as  the  income 
diminishes. 

I  at  first  suspected  myself  of  over-rating  the  importance  of  the  problem  which  I  had 
undertaken  to  solve.  At  the  present  time  I  am  warranted  by  adequate  and  complete 
testimony  in  maintaining  all  the  claims  that  have  ever  been  made  in  justification  of  my 
proposed  methods  of  constructing  cooking  apparatus  and  preparing  wholesome  food.  They 
have  proved  in  practice  to  be  as  simple,  as  sure  and  as  easily  applied  as  I  have  ever 
claimed  that  they  were  in  any  of  my  previous  treatises  upon  the  subject  of  cooking,  by  a 
sufficient  number  of  comj^etent  witnesses  to  that  effect. 

Each  reader  must  decide  what  proportion  of  the  woi'k  of  every  household  is  devoted 
to  the  preparation  of  food. 

Even  good  cooking  is  almost  wholly  an  empirical  art,  and  in  this  country  there  has 
been  little  or  no  scientific  selection  of  food  material  with  a  view  to  the  right  balance  of  the 
nutrients,  even  in  large  public  institutions  where  great  numbers  are  provided  for. 

It  happens  to  have  fallen  to  myseH  to  give  a  considerable  imjDulse  to  this  line  of  in- 
vestigation. 

I  should  long  since  have  given  up  the  attempt  to  overcome  incredulity,  habit,  inertia 
and  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  a  reform  in  the  wasteful  habits  of  great 
masses  of  the  people  of  this  country,  had  I  not  been  sustained  by  my  scientific  friends 
without  whose  assistance  but  little  could  have  been  accomplished.  Their  names  are  given 
with  the  extracts  from  their  own  treatises  which  I  have  compiled  in  this  little  volume. 

In  the  progress  of  this  effort  to  comprehend  all  the  elements  of  the  food  problem 
within  a  reasonable  number  of  pages  and  also  to  force  the  community  —  or  at  least,  all 
persons  who  care  for  the  common  welfare  —  to  give  their  attention  to  the  matter,  I  have 
learned  many  things  which  I  think  are  not  commonly  understood. 

1.  It  is  apparent  that  there  is  a  most  earnest  effort  among  people  of  very  small 
means,  especially  among  the  wives  of  hard-working  laboring  men,  to  provide  as  well  as 
they  know  how  to,  for  the  subsistence  of  their  families  at  the  least  cost.  Much  of  this 
effort  is  wasted  for  want  of  any  common  knowledge  of  the  nutritive  value  of  different 
kinds  of  food.  Their  purchases  are  apt  to  he  made  under  the  supposed  necessity  of  buy- 
ing expensive  articles  with  the  false  idea  that  nutrition  is  in  proportion  to  price. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION.  5 

2.  It  is  apparent  that  many  poor  students  in  technical  schools  and  colleges,  and 
many  single  women  who  are  striving  to  sustain  themselves  upon  meagre  wages,  spend 
enough  to  secure  complete  nutrition  and  are  yet  half-starved  or  suffer  from  dyspepsia 
through  their  ignorance  of  what  to  buy. 

3.  It  is  apparent  that  there  are  a  great  many  workmen,  in  fact,  very  large  numbers 
and  a  large  proportion  of  all  occupied,  whose  wages  are  sufficient  to  provide  their  families 
with  adequate  shelter,  ample  clothing  and  complete  nutrition ;  yet  their  families  suffer 
want  or  live  in  total  lack  of  comfort,  because  their  wives  cannot  do  all  the  other  household 
work  and  at  the  same  time  cook  in  a  suitable  way  over  the  hot  stoves  which  they  are 
obliged  to  use  for  want  of  other  suitable  appliances. 

4.  It  is  manifest  to  every  one  that  it  is  becoming  more  and  more  difficult  for  young 
people  of  moderate  income  to  keep  house  in  a  simple  and  comfortable  maimer,  mainly  on 
account  of  the  difficulty  of  providing  food  that  is  fit  to  eat  under  the  present  conditions  of 
domestic  service ;  the  care  of  a  young  family  utterly  forbidding  the  wife  from  undertaking 
the  cooking  herself. 

5.  It  is  also  manifest  that  the  household  difficulties  of  the  rich  and  the  well-to-do 
may  as  often  be  attributed  to  want  of  knowledge,  want  of  tact,  or  to  the  unreasonableness 
of  the  mistress,  as  to  any  want  of  capacity  to  learn  on  the  part  of  the  cook. 

Under  such  adverse  conditions,  the  maintenance  of  the  unit  of  the  family  and  the 
separate  home  is  becoming  more  and  more  difficult.  Anything  conducive  to  the  mainten- 
ance of  this  unit  is  of  paramount  importance. 

If  I  am  wrong  in  my  observation  of  these  facts  in  our  every-day  life,  then  I  doubtless 
overrate  the  importance  of  the  subject  with  which  I  am  dealing.  In  such  case  this  effort 
will  presently  cease  to  be  worth  continuing,  because  the  better  way  of  making  the  work  of 
life  lighter  and  simpler  will  be  found.  If  I  am  right  in  my  observations,  then  this  effort 
may  be  a  beginning  which  others  more  capable  than  myself  will  carry  to  a  conclusion. 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  problem  of  social  life  is  to  be  solved  by  co-operative  kitchens, 
by  collective  households,  or  by  any  other  of  the  devices  which  give  such  scope  to  the 
imagination  of  the  idealists  who  feel  themselves  competent  to  reorganize  society  in  all  its 
departments  ;  these  fads  have  had  little  or  no  success  whenever  and  wherever  they  have  been 
undertaken.  Most  of  these  semi-socialistic  proposals  would  require  a  complete  change  in 
the  habits  and  customs  of  every-day  people,  even  if  they  did  not  call  for  a  change  in  human 
nature  itself,  before  their  alleged  benefits  could  be  realized.  They  are  all  inconsistent 
either  with  personal  liberty  or  with  the  development  of  individual  capacity. 

In  this  category  I  do  not  include  undertakings  like  the  New  England  Kitchen,  where 
an  intermediate  problem  has  been  solved,  namely,  furnishing  wholesome,  hot  food  to  per- 
sons who  live  under  such  conditions  that  housekeeping  is  now  out  of  the  question  and  who 
have  heretofore  depended  upon  restaurants  of  a  cheap  and  usually  unwholesome  kind  for 


6  THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 

their  subsistence.  Such  undertakings  require  a  moderate  amount  of  capital  to  be  put  at 
their  disposal  in  the  inception  of  the  enterprise,  but  if  followed  up  with  judgment  and 
business  sagacity  they  may  become  self-sustaining  and  may  ultimately  become  a  source  of 
profit.  The  "  Etablissements  Duval "  in  Paris  are  examples  of  another  type  of  under- 
taking, by  which  wholesome  and  well-cooked  food  may  be  supplied  at  very  moderate 
prices. 

The  main  point  to  which  my  efforts  have  been  directed  has  been  to  enable  separate 
families  of  moderate  means,  living  in  their  own  houses,  to  secure  wholesome,  nutritious 
food,  well  cooked,  without  its  being  necessary  for  any  member  of  the  family  to  devote  so 
much  time  to  the  preparation  of  the  food  as  might  seriously  hamper  the  effort  of  the 
family  in  maintaining  itself.  This  has  been  practically  accomplished  by  several  different 
households  who  have  used  the  Aladdin  Oven  ;  in  more  than  one  instance  preparing  the 
breakfast  by  night  work,  placing  the  dinner  in  the  oven  after  breakfast,  then  every  mem- 
ber of  the  family  going  out  to  their  respective  occupations. 

I  might  have  rightly  organized  the  manufacture  of  Aladdin  Ovens  and  their  distribu- 
tion under  my  letters-patent,  with  a  prospect  of  ultimate  success  as  a  mere  matter  of  busi- 
ness and  perhaps  considerable  personal  profit  in  the  end.  This  was  not  my  purpose,  and 
neither  inclination  nor  other  duties  permitted  me  to  adopt  the  usual  method  of  introducing 
a  newly-patented  invention.  I  protected  this  invention  by  letters-patent,  to  the  end  that 
the  whole  subject  might  be  fully  develoj^ed  without  interference  and  not  for  the  purpose  of 
becoming  a  manufacturer  of  ovens.  My  main  purpose  has  been  accomplished,  and  I  have 
lately  declared  and  do  now  declare  the  principle  of  the  Aladdin  Oven  which  is  covered  by 
these  letters-patent  open  to  any  one  to  practise.  I  retain  my  rights  in  the  name  of  the 
Aladdin  Oven  itself,  as  now  constructed.  I  hold  the  name  "  Aladdin  Oven  "  as  my  private 
ti'ade-mark,  and  shall  continue  to  have  the  ovens  made  by  my  agents  upon  orders  as  fast 
as  they  are  wanted.  I  also  hold  the  names  "  Atkinson  Oven  "  and  "  Atkinson  Cooker  " 
as  my  trade-marks,  in  order  that  these  names  may  not  be  used  as  desci'ij)tive  of  apparatus 
which  I  might  not  approve.  "While  I  have  thus  put  the  principle  at  the  disposal  of  any 
one  who  may  choose  to  practice  it,  I  am  yet  convinced  that  it  will  be  cheaper  in  the  end 
for  any  one  to  buy  a  true  Aladdin  Oven  at  the  much  reduced  price  at  which  they  are  now 
offered  by  the  makers  to  whom  I  have  assigned  my  trade-mark,  than  to  undertake  to  make 
one  for  themselves.  I  had  been  much  disappointed  in  the  long  delay  in  lessening  the  cost, 
but  there  were  many  details  to  be  worked  out.  The  air-cells  in  the  asbestos  paper  lag- 
ging render  it  so  effective  a  non-conductor  as  to  make  it  possible  to  construct  the  Aladdin 
Oven  wholly  of  sheet-iron,  in  which  this  new  material  is  encased.  Alarldin  Ovens  will 
hereafter  be  made  by  the  Asbestos  Paper  Co.,  71  Kilby  Street,  Boston,  to  whom  orders 
may  be  sent.     Their  advertisement  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  this  treatise. 

It  may  happen  that  the  makers  of  metal  stoves  will  learn  the  lesson  of  protecting  or 


THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION.  T 

jacketing  their  own  stoves  on  the  outside  with  a  non-heat-conducting  material,  to  the  end 
that  the  principle  of  the  Aladdin  Oven  may  be  applied  in  many  other  ways.  That  princi- 
ple is  substantially  made  plain  in  the  rules  that  I  have  given  for  its  practice.  I  may  now 
repeat  it.  As  I  have  stated,  heat  may  be  boxed  up  in  an  oven  which  is  made  of  non-heat- 
conducting  material.  Vulcanized  wood  pulp,  known  as  "  Indurated  Fibre,"  I  have  found 
to  be  the  best.  Heat  may,  however,  be  boxed  up  in  a  bucket,  a  barrel  or  a  wooden  box 
lined  with  tin,  so  as  to  do  most  effective  work.  These  cheaper  appliances  are  not  as  ser- 
viceable ag  the  true  Aladdin  Oven,  but  will  yet  do  a  vast  deal  of  good  work  and  save  a 
great  deal  of  waste  and  of  labor.     They  are  fully  described  in  subsequent  pages. 

The  waste  of  heat  or  its  rapid  diffusion  being  thus  prevented  it  may  be  converted 
into  work  under  easy  control  and  at  a  regulated  temperature.  These  conditions  are  neces- 
sary to  any  true  art  of  cooking.  This  is  no  longer  a  theory  but  a  well  demonstrated  fact. 
Any  one  who  is  in  possession  of  appliances  which  are  made  consistently  with  this  princi- 
ple and  who  possesses  common  intelligence,  may  learn  how  to  make  bread  and  how  to 
roast,  bake,  simmer  or  broil  any  kind  of  food  material ;  in  fact,  any  one  may  learn  how 
to  cook  anything  in  a  single  lesson  which  may  be  taught  from  this  book.  There  is  no 
mystery  about  the  matter.  The  work  can  be  done  in-  the  simplest  manner  with  the  least 
expenditure  of  the  time  of  the  cook,  with  no  waste,  and  with  the  certainty  of  securing 
the  development  of  the  finest  specific  flavor  of  every  kind  of  food,  either  animal  or  vege- 
table, and  whether  cheap  or  high  priced. 

One  of  my  most  judicious  critics  to  whom  I  am  accustomed  to  submit  my  copy  before 
printing  has  made  the  following  comment  upon  the  above  statement,  "  I  wish  you  would 
not  make  this  quite  so  sweeping ;  your  standard  of  common  intelligence  ig  too  high." 

In  order  to  see  who  is  rights  I  propose  a  new  version  of  the  game  of  --  Twenty  Ques- 
tions." Any  group  of  players  can  determine  by  their  capacity  to  play  this  game  whether 
or  not  I  have  credited  them  with  more  common  intelligence  than  they  possess.  The  game 
is  in  two  parts. 

I.     Getting  Ready  to  Cook. 

Question  No.  1.  —  Can  you  cut  up  one  pound  of  shin  of  beef  or  some  other  kind  of 
tough  meat,  or  a  pound  of  clear  sirloin  or  tenderloin  into  small  pieces  of  about  the  size 
you  cut  it  when  you  eat  it  ? 

Question  No.  2. —  Can  you  put  on  a  little  more  salt  and  pepper  on  this  raw  meat 
than  you  would  if  it  had  been  cooked  and  a  little  had  already  been  used  in  the  cooking  ? 

Question  No.  3.  —  Can  you  cut  two  medium-sized  sausages  into  pieces  each  an  inch 
long  and  roll  them  in  some  flour  ? 

Question  No.  4.  —  Can  you  put  with  the  meat  and  the  sausage  one-third  of  a  cup  of 
oatmeal  ? 

Question  No.  5. —  Can  you  put  this  compound  into  a  crock  or  earthern-covered  jar? 


8  THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTEITION. 

Question  No.  6.  —  Can  you  add  one  coffee-cujjful  or  a  measuring  cupful  (if  you 
happen  to  have  one)  of  canned  tomato  and  one  teaspooniul  of  Worcestershire  sauce  or 
walnut  catsup  ? 

Question  No.  7.  —  Can  you  add  gradually  about  a  pint  of  cold  water  and  stir  the 
contents  of  the  jar  with  a  spoon  ? 

Question  No.  8.  —  Can  you  light  a  lamp  ten  minutes  before  you  want  to  use  it,  so 
as  to  be  pretty  sure  that  it  will  not  smoke  ?  All  those  who  have  a  Trench  burner  may 
say  Yes,  others  will  try.  With  a  well-cared-for  Bradley  &  Hubbard  lamp  it  is  easy  and 
sure. 

Question  No.  9. —  Can  you  put  the  lamp  under  a  hole  in  a  table,  of  which  the  top  is 
iron,  and  can  you  put  a  box  over  the  jar  when  that  has  been  put  upon  the  table  ? 

Question  No.  10. —  Can  you  convert  the  directions  for  making  bread,  roasting  meat, 
cooking  vegetables,  etc.,  which  are  in  this  book  into  a  set  of  questions  like  the  foregoing  ? 

If  all  have  answered,  Yes,  to  these  ten  questions,  then  all  are  competent  to  prepare 
any  kind  of  food  material  and  to  get  it  ready  to  be  cooked,  although  some  special  com- 
pounds need  to  be  beaten,  stii'red  or  rolled  according  to  the  instructions  in  the  books,  before 
being  put  in  the  oven. 

II.    Making  an  Oven  and  Cooking. 

Question  No.  11.  —  Can  you  get  an  Aladdin  Oven  and  table,  or  if  not  can  you  get 
a  strong  wooden  frame  about  three  feet  square  and  about  eighteen  inches  high  with  two 
strips  of  iron  across  the  top  to  support  the  iron  top  of  the  table  ? 

Question  No.  12. — ^Can  you  get  a  sheet  of  galvanized  iron  a  little  over  three  feet 
square,  have  the  edges  and  corners  turned  down,  a  hole  two  and  one-half  inches  in  di- 
ameter made  in  the  middle,  and  have  it  fastened  upon  the  table-legs  ? 

Question  No.  13.  —  Can  you  have  a  slab  of  soapstone  or  a  tile  about  six  inches 
square  and  about  one  inch  thick  set  on  legs  of  tile  or  soapstone  half  an  inch  high,  or  a 
brick  resting  on  four  pebbles,  placed  over  the  hole  on  the  table  ? 

Question  No.  14.  —  Can  you  get  a  five-gallon  paper  bucket,  or  what  is  better,  can 
you  have  a  box  made  of  boards  one  inch  thick,  twelve  inches  each  way  inside,  lined  with 
tiiJ,  without  any  cover,  to  jjut  over  the  tile  or  brick?  Can  you  reverse  the  half  of  a  flour 
or  beer  barrel  over  such  tile  or  brick  on  a  metal  table  ? 

Question  No.  15. — Can  j^ou  get  a  hand-lamp  with  a  duplex  Trench  burner  one 
and  a  half  inches  wide  from  Jones,  McDuffee  &  Stratton,  Boston,  that  will  hold  a  quart  of 
150°  kerosene  oil  ? 

If  all  have  said  Yes,  then  the  oven  may  be  made  ready  for  use. 

Question  No.  16.  —  Having  lighted  your  lamp,  can  you  now  place  it  on  some  blocks 
under  the  table  so  that  the  top  of  the  chimney  will  come  close  up  to  the  hole  without 
making  the  lamp  smoke  ? 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION.  9 

Question  No.  17.  —  Can  you  now  put  the  jar  containing  the  food  material  upon  the 
brick  or  tile  and  ^jlace  the  bucket  or  box  inverted  over  it  ? 

Question  No.  18. — Have  you  now  the  moral  com'age,  coupled  with  a  sufficient 
amount  of  credulity,  to  go  away  for  five  hours  and  trust  the  lamp  to  do  the  cooking? 
How  many  will  say  Yes  ? 

Question  No.  19.  —  Can  you  come  back  after  five  hours,  a  little  more  or  less,  take 
off  the  box,  remove  the  jar,  and  serve  the  contents  to  the  guests  whom  you  have  invited  to 
share,  with  any  confidence  that  the  cooked  food  will  be  appetizing  and  nutritious  ?  Who 
answers  Yes  ?     Echo  answers.  Who  ? 

Question  No.  20.  —  Can  you  believe  that  if  you  have  had  a  tin  tube  six  inches  high 
with  a  plate  over  the  top  placed  over  the  hole  instead  of  the  tile  on  brick,  you  can  put 
four  jars,  each  containing  a  jiound  to  a  pound  and  a  half  of  vegetables,  fish-chowder,  pud- 
ding or  oatmeal,  around  the  tube  on  the  table,  and  a  piece  of  meat,  a  basted  chicken,  a 
thick  steak  or  a  meat  stew  in  a  pan  on  the  top  shelf  of  the  tube,  and  can  prepare  a  din- 
ner for  five  or  six  persons  under  your  bucket  or  box  ?     Who  says  Yes  ?     Nobody  ! 

Those  who  possess  enough  common  intelligence  to  win  in  the  game  of  "  Twenty 
Questions  "  may  be  capable  of  understanding  that  about  nine-tenths  of  the-  instructions 
for  cooking  on  an  iron  -stove  or  range  are  directed  toward  overcoming  the  faults  and  the 
irregular  or  excessive  heat  which  has  to  be  generated  from  coal  in  order  to  cook  at  all 
without  burning,  spoiling  or  wasting  good  material  in  the  process.  Any  one  thus  proved 
to  be  competent  in  answering  the  twenty  questions  may  then  make  up  a  great  many  of 
the  food  combinations  given  in  the  recipes,  put  them  under  the  box  or  into  the  oven,  and 
without  wasting  time,  temper  or  material  and  becoming  roasted  themselves  while  the  pro- 
cess of  cooking  is  going  on,  may  get  results  equal  to  or  better  than  the  cookery-books 
call  for. 

Having  thus  divested  myself  of  any  private  interest  in  the  principle,  retaining  only 
the  manufacture  of  the  Aladdin  Oven  itself,  I  now  feel  at  liberty  to  give  a  digest  of  the 
testimony  of  many  witnesses  whose  names  and  addresses  I  should  otherwise  have  hardly 
been  willing  to  print  even  with  their  full  consent ;  because  I  know  that  I  shall  subject 
them  to  many  inquiries  which  may  become  burdensome,  and  I  would  not  put  them  to 
that  burden  under  any  appearance  of  seeking  a  private  profit. 

I  have  recovered  the  cost  of  my  original  experiments  from  the  sale  of  the  oven. 
This  book  is  selling  freely,  and  may  ultimately  reimburse  me  for  the  cost  of  preparing  and 
printing.  I  am  therefore  satisfied  that  the  kind  of  work  which  falls  to  myself  will  pay  its 
cost,  and  will  therefore  be  justified  in  its  continuance. 

A  digest  of  the  replies  lately  received  to  questions  put  to  purchasers  of  the  oven,  and 
some  new  recipes  will  be  found  in  the  supplement  to  this  edition  at  the  end  of  the  book. 


10 


THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 


On  reviewing  the  work  of  Count  Rumford  since  the  first  edition  of  this  book  was 
written,  I  find  that  I  have  been  an  unconscious  plagiarist.  The  title  is  a  term  which  he 
used  more  than  one  hundred  years  ago,  and  led  by  the  logic  of  the  case  I  have  repeated 
many  of  his  demonstrations  and  have  accomplished  what  he  sought  to  attain  and  would 
have  succeeded  in  had  he  been  supplied  with  liquid  or  gaseous  fuel  and  other  materials 
than  iron  for  the  construction  of  ovens. 

Edwaed  Atkinson. 

Brookline,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A.,  January,  1895. 


INTRODUCTION    TO    FIRST    EDITION. 


It  had  been  my  intention  to  adopt  a  more  modest  name  for  this  compendium 
of  my  experiments,  and  I  am  warranted  only  by  the  approval  and  advice  of  my 
scientific  friends  and  co-laborers  in  a  field  that  has  yet  been  only  partially  explored 
in  adopting  the  form  of  my  title.  Without  their  aid  and  counsel  I  should  have 
been  able  to  give  only  a  few  crude  hints  for  others  to  work  out. 

Much  delay  has  occurred  in  the  publication  of  this  book.  It  has  grown  upon 
my  hands,  and  in  its  final  shape  it  is  not  in  as  good  a  form  as  I  could  wish;  but 
time  is  wanting  for  further  correction.  As  the  line  of  investigation  has  opened,  it 
has  become  apparent  that  we  were  at  the  very  beginning  of  what  will  be  necessary 
in  order  to  establish  a  true  Science  of  Nutrition;  yet  more  before  the  facts  that  have 
been  developed  by  science  may  be  converted  into  a  simple  art  that  any  one  may 
practice.  Suffice  it  that  by  the  aid  of  my  friends  I  may  have  been  able  to  put,  in 
this  unsatisfactory  form,  a  considerable  part  of  what  may  yet  be  called  the  alphabet 
of  the  Science  of  JSTutrition.  I  venture  to  hope  that  others  more  competent  may 
take  up  this  work  and  perfect  my  crude  inventions. 

In  one  of  my  earlier  treatises  upon  the  "  Art  of  Cooking"  I  ventured  to  bring 
out  the  importance  of  this  subject  in  the  following  terms: 

[Popular  Sgien"CE  Mois-thly,  November,  1889.] 

I  will  challenge  attention  and  discussion  by  first  submitting  some  very  positive 
and  dogmatic  statements,  subsequently  sustaining  them  by  such  proofs  as  I  have  to 
offer: 

1.  Special  apparatus  for  broiling  and  frying  has  been  adequately  and  suitably 
developed  for  the  use  of  those  who  can  afford  these  somewhat  wasteful  methods  of 
preparing  food,  yet  excellent  when  skillfully  practiced. 

2.  The  ordinary  methods  of  frying  are  utterly  bad  and  wasteful. 

3.  Bread  may  be  baked  suitably  in  a  brick  oven  and  also  economically  when 
the  work  is  done  upon  a  large  scale. 


12  THE    SCIENCE   OF    lifUTEITIOif. 

4.  It  is  very  difficult  to  bake  bread  in  a  suitable  way  in  the  common  iron  stove 
or  range;  for  this,  among  other  reasons,  most  of  the  bread  consumed  in  this  country 
is  very  bad,  although  we  have  the  greatest  abundance  of  the  best  material. 

5.  Meats  may  be  well  roasted,  in  a  costly  manner,  before  an  open  fire. 

6.  Aside  from  the  exceptional  apparatus  or  methods  named,  substantially  all 
the  modern  cooking  stoves  and  ranges  are  wasteful  and  more  or  less  unsuitable  foj 
use.  All  the  ordinary  methods  of  quick  baking,  roasting  and  boiling  are  bad;  and, 
finally,  almost  the  whole  of  the  coal  or  oil  used  in  cooking  is  wasted. 

7.  The  smell  of  cooking  in  the  ordinary  way  gives  evidence  of  waste  of  flavor 
as  well  as  a  waste  of  nutritious  properties;  in  most  cases  the  unpleasant  smell  also 
gives  evidence  that  the  food  is  being  converted  into  an  unwholesome  condition, 
conducive  to  indigestion  and  dyspepsia. 

8.  Nine-tenths  of  the  time  devoted  to  watching  the  process  of  cooking  is 
wasted;  the  heat  and  discomfort  of  the  room  in  which  the  cooking  is  done  are 
evidence  of  worse  than  waste. 

9.  The  warming  of  the  room  or  house  with  the  apparatus  used  for  cooking  is 
inconsistent  with  the  best  method  of  cooking  and  might  be  compassed  at  much  less 
cost  if  the  process  of  cooking  were  separated  from  the  process  of  warming  the 
room  or  dwelling. 

10.  No  fuel  which  cannot  be  wholly  consumed  is  really  fit  to  use  in  the  process 
of  cooking. 

The  true  science  of  cooking  consists  in  the  regulated  and  controlled  application 
of  heat,  hy  which  flavors  are  developed  and  the  work  of  converting  raw  and 
indigestible  material  into  nutritious  food  is  accomplished. 

For  this  purpose  the  quantity  of  fuel  required  is  almost  absurdly  small  com- 
pared to  the  quantity  commonly  used. 

In  establishing  the  standard  of  heat  for  different  processes  or  different  kinds 
of  food  I  have  found  it  rather  difficult  to  measure  the  temperature  of  the  oven  in 
its  everyday  work,  and  I  have  also  broken  a  good  many  high-grade  thermometers  in 
experimenting.  I  have  one  very  useful  cooking  thermometer,  which  is  made  by 
Joseph  Davis  &  Co.,  Fitzroy  Works,  London,  S.  E.,  but  I  can  find  nothing  corre- 
sponding to  it  in  this  country. 

A  simple  method  in  experimenting  is  to  place  a  small  vessel  containing  lard  oil 
on  the  same  shelf  with  the  food  which  is  in  process.  Take  the  heat,  on  the  comple- 
tion of  the  work,  by  immersing  the  bulb  of  the  thermometer  in  the  hot  fat. 

I  have  also  procured  a  large  number  of  alloys  or  metals  possessing  different  melt- 
ing points,  of  which  I  place  small  pieces  alongside  or  inside  the  cooking  vessels  in 
small  saucers,  and  in  this  way  I  can  make  a  close  approximation  to  the  maximum 


THE   SCIENCE   OF    NUTEITION.  13 

heat.  Once  fairly  established,  the  matter  becomes  simple  by  gauging  the  size  of 
the  burner  to  the  size  of  the  oven. 

I  was  led  into  my  recent  experiments  in  the  art  of  cooking  by  dealing  with  the 
statistics  of  the  cost  of  food  to  the  multitude.  It  comes  to  one-half  the  cost  of 
living  or  more,  to  at  least  nine-tenths  of  the  people  of  this  country  and  of  every 
other  country.     The  less  the  income  the  greater  the  proportion  spent  for  food. 

My  immediate  incentive  in  trying  to  solve  the  practical  problem  was  my  happen- 
ing to  be  present,  on  a  cold  day,  when  a  number  of  workmen  in  a  mill  which  they 
were  building  were  about  to  take  their  dinner.  When  they  opened  their  dinner 
pails  a  mess  of  cold  victuals  was  disclosed,  which  seemed  to  me  must  require  the 
digestive  power  of  an  ostrich  to  dispose  of.  This  led  me  to  take  up  again  a  line  of 
experiments  upon  which  I  had  begun  many  years  before,  but  had  dropped.  I  had 
tried  to  make  a  cooking-pail  which  could  be  carried  in  the  hand,  and  in  which  the 
workman  could  cook  his  dinner  without  any  attention  being  required  while  he  was 
at  work.  I  have  now  accomplished  this,  but  the  Avay  has  been  long,  devious,  waste- 
ful and  costly  and  the  device  is  not  yet  in  a  commercial  form. 

It  may  be  observed  that  the  progress  of  almost  all  invention  is  from  the  simple, 
rude  and  laborious  ways  of  the  untaught, — through  very  complex  and  costly  de- 
vices, ending  at  last  in  the  simplest  methods  of  the  most  effective  and  least  arduous 
kinds.  So  it  has  been  in  the  making  of  cooking  utensils  and  in  the  art  of,  cooking. 
So  it  has  been  with  my  own  efforts  upon  these  lines. 

The  final  conclusions  in  which  I  have  summed  up  the  results  of  my  experience 
may  be  laid  down  in  the  following  very  simple  propositions,  which  any  one  can 
apply  who  knows  how  or  who  is  willing  to  be  taught.  It  is  of  tener  the  will  than 
the  capacity  that  is  lacking. 

1st.     The  simple  rule  for  making  a  cooking  apparatus  is  as  follows  : 

Take  a  paper  box,  then  take  some  heat  from  a  lamp,  put  it  into  the  box  and 
keep  it  there.  When  you  have  enough  heat  in  the  box,  having  first  put  the  food 
which  is  to  be  cooked  into  suitable  pots  or  pans,  put  them  into  the  box  with  the 
heat;  keep  them  there  until  the  heat  and  the  food  are  combined;  keep  up  the 
supply  of  heat  from  the  lamp.     (Aladdin  Oven  Patent  524,949.) 

2nd.  The  simple  rule  for  learning  how  to  prepare  and  how  to  cook  food,  is  as 
follows  : 

Take  one  part  of  gumption  and  one  part  of  food  ;  combine  them  together  in  a 
dish  in  which  the  food  may  be  cooked  :  put  that  dish,  as  directed  by  rule  No.  1, 
into  the  box  where  the  heat  is ;  keep  it  in  there  long  enough  to  cook  the  food. 

There  is  no  mystery  and  no  difficulty  about  either  of  these  matters.  Any  boy 
or  girl  can  be  taught  in  one  lesson  how  to  master  certain  simple  principles  so  as  to 


14  THE  SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION. 

become  a  good  plain  cook,  after  sufficient  practice — provided  each  already  possesses 
the  one  part  of  gumption  which  must  be  combined  with  the  food.  All  the  cookery 
books  and  all  the  recipe  books  that  I  have  ever  read  wholly  omit  this  necessary 
ingredient.  Those  who  do  not  yet  know  how  to  apply  these  two  rules,  may  read 
this  pamphlet ;  some  may  perhaps  profit  by  it. 

I  am  told  that  it  may  be  injudicious  to  claim  so  much,  or  to  make  so  light  of 
the  difficulties  in  training  a  cook.  That  may  be  true;  but,  what  can  one  do?  I 
must  either  state  the  facts  as  they  are,  or  suppress  them.  I  have  tested  these  two 
rules  in  practice,  and  I  have  not  failed.  The  boys  that  I  selected  to  experi- 
ment upon  possessed  the  element  of  gumption,  and  they  worked  very  well  on  the 
first  trial. 

When  correcting  the  proofs  of  this  text,  the  rules  which  I  have  laid  down  for 
making  an  oven  and  educating  a  cook  suddenly  took  on  an  appearance  of  grotesque 
absurdity.  Then  I  bethought  me  that  any  reader  might  say  to  himself,  "  What 
does  this  man  mean?  Does  he  himself  more  than  half  believe  what  he  says?  "  And 
to  that  question  my  answer  might  be,  ''  /doubt  if  he  does.'' 

When  we  recall  the  fact  that  men  of  the  highest  scientific  attainments  have 
tried  to  solve  this  problem  at  various  times,  and  have  not  found  out  the  way,  it 
really  does  seem  rather  absurd  that  my  two  rules  should  suffice.  For  instance,  we 
may  recall  the  work  of  the  French  inventor  Papin,  who,  more  than  two  hundred 
years  ago,  while  engaged  in  the  apparently  more  important  work  of  laying  the 
foundation  for  the  modern  steam-engine  and  while  improving  the  air-pump,  yet 
found  time  to  invent  the  Papin  soup-digester.  That  utensil  remains  in  use  under 
the  inventor's  name,  down  to  the  present  day,  a  most  durable  monument.  It  is  a 
most  excellent  utensil,  but  it  is  adapted  only  to  the  single  purpose  of  utilizing  soup 
stock,  leaving  nothing  but  the  bones.  It  does  not  suffice  for  common  use  with  us, 
because  a  great  many  of  our  working  people  declare  that  they  do  not  want  ''bone  sou})," 
and  they  stigmatize  simmered  food  of  the  best  kind  under  the  name  of  "pig  wash." 

Passing  down  over  a  century,  the  next  name  which  at  once  comes  up  is  that  of 
Benjamin  Thompson — Count  Rumford.  He  devoted  a  lifetime  to  the  study  of 
heat,  and  he  believed  that  by  the  invention  of  the  Eumford  oven  he  had  solved  the 
very  problem  on  which  we  are  still  engaged.  Yet  the  Eumford  oven  has  gone 
almost  wholly  out  of  use,  and  Count  Rumford  did  not  accomplish  his  purpose,  be- 
cause he  had  not  a  cheap  fuel  which  could  be  regulated  and  completely  consumed 
in  the  process  of  heating  the  oven.  Mineral  oil  had  not  been  discovered  and  even 
coal  was  not  much  in  household  use.  In  other  words,  the  true  science  of  cooking 
waited  for  the  invention  of  methods  of  making  gas,  for  the  discovery  of  kerosene 
oil  and  for  the  conversion  of  wood  into  wood  pulp  or  ''indurated  fibre." 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION".  ,  15 

Again,  consider  the  constant  effort  of  inventors  in  the  improvement  of  the  iron 
cooking  range  and  the  iron  cooking  stove.  Witness  their  mis-directed  efforts  to 
ventilate  ovens  and  draw  off  the  vapor  generated  in  the  oven  from  the  food  ;  which 
is  precisely  what  ought  not  to  be  done  when  the  heat  ia  under  proper  regulation. 
Witness  their  efforts  to  enable  every  one  to  cook  food  quickly,  which  is  ab- 
solutely the  wrong  way  in  nine  times  out  of  ten.  Witness  all  the  other  devices 
which  have  been  applied  to  the  perfection  of  the  iron  stove  ;  yet  the  common  iron 
stove  remains  an  infernal  machine,  almost  unfit  to  be  used,  even  by  the  intelligent, 
in  any  true  method  of  cooking,  and  incapable  of  being  applied  to  any  really  scientific 
process  of  cooking.* 

When  we  recall  all  these  instances  and  efforts,  it  really  does  seem  absurd  that 
any  one  should  claim  to  have  found  out  a  way  by  which  a  boy  or  girl,  in  whose 
training  a  little  gumption  has  been  developed  and  who  never  cooked  anything  before, 
can  be  taught  in  one  hour  the  simple  principles,  which  after  sufficient  practice  will 
enable  them  to  take  some  heat  from  the  top  of  a  lamp,  to  put  it  into  a  box  and  then 
to  subject  all  kinds  of  meat,  game,  poultry,  fish,  fruit,  grain  and  vegetables  to  this 
heat  in  such  a  way,  that  the  most  skillful  "^'Ohef  "  or  ^'^  Cordon  Bleu  ''  will  fail  by 
comparison  in  developing  the  finest  natural  flavor  of  each  distinct  variety  of  food. 
It  may  seem  absurd  ;  nevertheless,  it  seems  to  be  a  fact. 

I  can  only  explain  this  case  by  taking  over  to  myself  a  story  which  is  told 
about  the  invention  of  what  is  called  the  California  pump ;  one  of  the  simplest 
devices  for  the  rough  work  of  draining.  It  consists  of  a  slanting  trough  in  which 
revolves  a  leather  belt,  across  which  belt  strips  of  wood  are  nailed.  When  the  man 
who  first  adapted  this  pump  to  draining  a  ditch  showed  it  to  one  of  his  neighbors, 
never  thinking  that  there  was  anything  very  wonderful  about  itj  his  neighbor's 
comment  was  this :  "  Why,  Jim,  that  is  so  simple  that  nobody  but  a  fool  would 
ever  have  thought  of  it."  That  is  about  the  aspect  in  which  the  Aladdin  Oven  and 
the  Workman's  Pail  are  presented  to  my  alter  ego.  When  my  double  takes  himself 
a  little  way  off,  so  as  to  be  able  to  look  back  on  what  the  other  fellow  is  trying  to 
do ;  or  in  order  to  comprehend  what  his  practical  representative  is  occupied  about 
in  the  material  work  of  mundane  existence ;  he  sometimes  puts  the  question  to  me, 

[From  the  Nation,  No.  1361.] 
*  "  If  we  consider  that  wonderful  worli  of  human  hands,  the  kitchen  range,  under  the  management  of  the 
regular  cook,  who  knows  how  to  put  on  all  the  draught  at  once  and  keep  it  on,  what  a  devourer  of  fuel  it  is  !  We 
need  a  cup  of  tea  or  a  chop  in  summer,  and  a  fire  is  kindled  that  would  generate  steam  enough  to  drive  an  ocean 
racer  a  mile  upon  her  course,  the  kitchen  is  turned  into  a  Tophet,  the  miserable  servants  swelter  in  the  apart- 
ments which  their  own  stupidity  and  that  of  mankind  have  rendered  uninhabitable,  and  their  employers  are 
rendered  uncomfortable  above.  The  extravagance  of  the  Chinese,  who,  as  related  by  Charles  Lamb,  at  first 
thought  it  necessary  to  burn  down  a  house  whenever  they  wanted  to  roast  a  pig,  is  nothing  to  ours.  In  place  of 
all  these  trials,  heating  gas  is  now  supplied  to  those  who  have  the  wit  to  use  it  and  the  enterprise  to  supply  them- 
selves with  gas  ranges,  which  can  be  lighted  and  extinguished  in  a  moment." 


16  THE  SCIEN-CE  OF  NUTRITION. 

or  I  put  it  to  him,  or  we  put  it  to  both  of  us  :  ''Do  you  really  suppose  that  you 
have  accomplished  the  work  which  Count  Eumford  undertook,  and  did  not  bring 
into  practical  form?"  It  remains  for  others  and  not  for  me  or  my  double  to  answer 
this  question. 

It  has  taken  me  a  long  time  to  put  myself  in  a  position  to  have  the  question 
asked,  but  it  has  lately  been  answered  by  a  cloud  of  witnesses. 

In  dealing  with  the  preparation  of  food  I  have  been  led  to  give  some  considera- 
tion to  the  possible  increase  in  the  variety  and  in  the  quantity  of  our  food  supply. 

I  will  treat  only  one  or  two  points  in  this  connection — it  opens  a  broad  field. 

To  the  uninstructed  mind  it  hardly  seems  as  if  our  scientists  had  given  sufiB- 
cient  attention  to  the  nutrition  either  of  the  animal  or  the  plant  in  the  utilization 
of  the  leguminous  plants  classed  as  pulse,  i.e.,  pease  and  beans  in  great  variety.  In 
a  recent  investigation  (in  1888)  of  the  wheat  supply  of  the  world,  I  was  much 
struck  with  the  statement  made  by  Dr.  George  Watts,  Eeporter  on  Economic  Prod- 
ucts to  the  Government  of  India,  that  the  limit  of  exports  of  wheat  from  India 
had  probably  been  reached,  because  no  more  land  within  easy  reach  of  railways  or 
waterways  could  be  spared  from  the  cultivation  of  rice  and  pulse.  Kice  alone,  con- 
sisting too  much  of  starch,  would  not  give  vigor;  the  pulse  furnishes  the  necessary 
nitrogen.  The  farmers  of  the  Southern  states,  who  cannot  produce  ripened  corn 
for  milling  in  competition  with  the  West,  can  yet  produce  corn  stalks  for  the  silo  in 
excessive  abundance.  In  their  cottonseed  meal  they  have  a  fat-producing  food  also 
full  of  phosphates,  and  in  the  cow-pea  vine  they  have  a  plant  of  almost  unequalled 
power  in  renovating  the  soil  when  plowed  under;  also  of  the  utmost  value  when 
mixed  with  corn  stalks  in  the  silo,  making  a  complete  food,  even  for  working  cattle 
and  mules. 

I  also  infer  from  this  report  of  Dr.  Watts  that  we  yet  know  but  little  in  this 
country  about  many  varieties  of  rice  and  of  pulse.  Prof.  Church  states  that  "  rice  is 
more  largely  grown  and  consumed  as  food  than  any  other  cereal.  Alone,  however,  it 
is  not  a  perfect  food,  being  deficient  in  albuminoids  and  in  mineral  matters. ""  In 
speaking,  however,  of  the  food  of  the  Japanese,  he  remarks  that  "  both  swamp  rice 
and  mountain  rice,  when  grown  in  Japan,  contain  a  higher  percentage  of  albumin- 
oids than  is  usual  with  this  grain.^'     What  is  mountain  rice? 

In  respect  to  one  variety  of  pulse,  the  Soy  or  Soja  bean.  Prof.  Church  remarks^ 
"  The  Soy  bean  is  entitled  to  the  highest  place,  even  amongst  the  pulses,  as  a  food 
capable  of  supplementing  the  deficiencies  of  rice  or  other  starchy  grains.  Very 
few  vegetable  products  are  so  rich  as  this  bean,  at  once  in  albuminoids  and  in  fat 
and  oil,  the  former  constituent  averaging  35  per  cent,  and  the  latter  18  or  19.'^ 

At  the  time  of  the  Cotton  Exposition,  in  Atlanta,  1881,  I  imported  from  China 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION.  17 

two  or  three  bushels  of  Soy  beans,  which  were  distributed  from  there.  I  have  lately 
seen  several  references  to  their  cultivation  in  Southern  agricultural  journals.  The 
sugar  planters  of  Louisiana  have  only  within  very  recent  years  discovered  the  fer- 
tilizing properties  of  cottonseed  meal;  the  Chinese  have  used  bean  meal  as  a  fertilizer 
for  centuries. 

Dr.  Watts  remarks  in  the  report  to  which  I  have  referred:  "  There  are  rices 
that  can  be  cultivated  on  comparatively  dry  soils,  rices  that  occupy  the  ground  more 
than  half  the  year,  rices  that  grow  in  cold,  temperate  clitnates,  and  rices  that  can 
thrive  only  in  tropical  swamps." 

Speaking  of  pulse,  he  says:  "  The  pulses  alone  occupy  more  ground  than  either 
wheat  or  rice."  He  also  gives  a  list  of  the  principal  varieties,  as  follows:  "^  Gram 
or  Chicken  pea,  Dal  or  Thur,  Mung,  Urad,  Moth,  Shim,  Poput,  Kulthi."  "The 
Dal  is  a  large  woody  shrub  sown  around  the  margins  of  the  fields,  or  in  rows  through 
wheat  and  cotton.  It  does  not,  therefore,  interfere  with  wheat  cultivation.  All 
the  other  pulses  or  leguminous  crops  are  procumbent  herbs." 

If  another  great  crop  of  cotton  should  so  reduce  the  price  as  to  force  a  variation 
in  Southern  farming  with  a  little  more  rapidity,  it  might  prove  to  be  a  blessing  in 
disguise.  Would  it  not  be  judicious  to  procure  the  seed  of  mountain  rice  from 
Japan,  of  upland  rice  from  India,  and  might  it  not  be  judicious  to  add  to  the  Soja 
of  China  the  Dal,  Poput  and  Gram  from  the  northwestern  or  temperate  sections  of 
India? 

The  last  time  I  was  at  Columbia,  S.  C,  I  was  told  that  the  Pea  Ridge  farmers, 
were  thriving,  who  had  learned  to  nourish  the  poor  soil  of  the  ridges,  from  which 
the  original  fertility  of  the  land  had  been  washed  down  into  the  bottom  lands,  by 
turning  under  the  Cow-pea  vines,  while  the  planters  on  the  bottoms,  whose  life  in 
old  times  used  to  be  so  easy,  were  no  longer  prospering.  Would  it  not  be  judicious 
for  Governor  Tillman  to  send  to  India  for  some  "  Dal,"  and  would  it  not  be  pru- 
dent for  the  Southern  Farmers'  Alliance  to  let  our  silver  go  to  India  in  exchange 
for  some  ''Poput"  and  ''Gram,"  instead  of  keeping  it  here  to  debase  our  credit? 

Prof.  Atwater  tells  us  that  nitrogen  is  the  most  important  and  most  costly 
element  in  the  nutrition  of  man,  as  it  also  is  in  the  nutrition  of  the  soil. 

Here  is  a  great  class  of  nitrogenous  pulses  waiting  to  be  imported.  Perhaps 
they  are  no  better  than  our  native  cow-pea  vines,  but  who  knows?  What  do  we 
know  about  English  horse-beans  or  Indian  pulse?  Why  should  Englishmen  enjoy 
"  Stachys  TuUfera"  from  Japan  while  we  have  it  not?  A  new  tuber  might  give 
as  pleasant  a  sensation  as  a  new  lily. 

The  science  of  nutrition  leads  one  very  far  afield,  and  unless  I  stop  here  on  this 
subject  the  introduction  may  become  longer  than  the  main  treatise. 


18  THE  SCIEIS^CE   OF  2!fUTRITI0]sr. 

CONCLUSION. 

I  have  not  hesitated  to  take  the  somewhat  unusual  methods  which  I  haVf- 
adopted  in  preparing  and  publishing  this  pamphlet,  in  order  to  assure  the  wide 
circulation  of  the  theories,  the  facts  and  the  figures  which  are  printed  herein.  A 
true  economy  in  the  use  of  food  and  the  attention  which  is  demanded  by  the  art  of 
nutrition  have  failed  until  very  lately  to  receive  the  attention  that  is  due  to  their 
importance. 

Unless  one  is  prepared  to  spend  a  small  fortune  in  the  ordinary  modes  of 
advertisement,  or  unless  one  invents  some  new  method  of  securing  public  attention 
by  exciting  curiosity,  as  I  have  attempted  to  do  in  this  pamphlet,  the  spread  oi 
information  on  any  given  subject  is  about  as  slow  and  difficult  as  it  is  to  accomplish 
the  object  aimed  at  in  the  processes  about  which  the  information  ia  sought  to  bo 
given.  I  have  known  most  useful  and  valuable  inventions  to  be  delayed  for  many 
years  for  want  of  the  means,  the  capacity  or  push  necessary  to  force  them  into 
public  notice  ;  some  have  been  delayed  so  long  that  the  inventors  have  died  poor  ; 
one  known  to  me  even  committed  suicide  in  desjDair.  I  doubt  not  many  valuable 
devices  have  been  wholly  lost  for  the  time  being,  both  to  the  inventor  and  to  the 
public,  on  this  account. 

How  to  avoid  the  ways  of  the  vendors  of  quack  medicines,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  secure  public  attention,  is  a  difficult  problem  ;  yet  more  difficult  when  the 
subject  of  notice  is  one  of  which  the  vendor  desires  to  promote  the  sale  for  other 
purposes  than  personal  profit,  or  to  which  he  cannot  give  the  time  or  attention 
which  would  be  necessary  in  order  to  make  a  sufficient  profit  corresponding  to  his 
effort.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  go  into  an  extensive  manufacture  of  ovens  on  my 
own  account,  unless  I  am  obliged  to  do  it  lest  the  possible  benefit  of  my  work  should 
be  lost.  If  my  ovens  are  justified  in  use,  they  may  soon  be  taken  up  by  those  who  are 
more  conversant  with  the  business  than  I  am ;  then  my  own  profit  or  royalty  on  the 
patent,  if  any,  may  be  devoted  to  the  further  development  of  the  science  of 
.  nutrition. 

Edward  Atkinson. 

June,  1895.  Having  recovered  the  cost  of  all  experiments  from  the  sale  of  ovens, 
the  patents  thereon  are  free  to  public  use,  the  name  Aladdin  Oven  being  retained  for  my 
23rivate  use  as  a  trade-mark.  E.  a. 


PART    I, 

TREATISE  UPON 

THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 


Substance  of  a  Lecture  Delivered  in  the  Laav  Lecture  Room  of  Colum- 
bia College,  New  York,  at  the  Instance  of  Prof.  Thomas  Egleston 
— Subsequently  Amended  and  Completed. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

Before  presenting  my  subject,  permit  me  to  say  that  what  I  have  written  is  not 
intended  for  publication  as  a  conclusive  statement.  It  is  wholly  tentative  and  is 
incomplete. 

If  this  treatise  should  be  printed  in  its  present  form  I  must  append  to  it  the 
caveat  to  which  I  was  accustomed  when  I  earned  my  living  as  an  accountant : 
"'E.  &  0.  E." — "Errors  and  Omissions  Excepted." 

You  may  be  learning  the  alphabet  while  I  have  got  as  far  as  "words  of  three 
letters  in  the  study  of  the  subject  which  is  to  be  dealt  with  to-day. 

What  I  shall  exhibit  to  you  in  the  product  of  these  ovens  and  cooking  pails 
will  speak  for  itself,  and  may  be  fully  reported  according  to  the  facts. 

I  understand  these  meetings  to  have  been  arranged  by  Prof.  Egleston  in  order 
that  I  might  bring  before  you  some  evidences  of  the  progress  that  I  have  made  in 
applying  scientific  methods  to  practice  in  the  most  necessary  of  all  the  arts,  this  art 
of  nutrition.  Yet  I  am  not  a  scientist,  therefore  all  my  own  work  is  empirical, 
tentative  and  crude.  It  merely  opens  the  way  into  a  field  where  true  science  needs 
to  be  applied,  but  which  is  as  yet  almost  unoccupied. 

Since  I  have  ventured  almost  alone  to  work  in  this  field  upon  an  entirely  new 
method,  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  am  obliged  to  speak  in  the  first  person  singular. 

At  first  I  found  it  very  difl&cult  to  overcome  the  sense  of  its  being  quite  unfit 
for  me  to  speak  to  women  about  the  art  of  cooking,  or  to  physicians  upon  the 
science  of  nutrition.  I  have,  however,  put  aside  that  feeling  since  I  have  dis- 
covered what  my  mission  ia  the  world  is.  I  suppose  every  one  has  a  mission, 
whether  conscious  or  unconscious  of  it.  My  own  mission  appears  to  be  to  overcome 
the  inertia  of  woman  ;  a  very  hard  piece  of  work. 

Five  or  six  years  since  the  names  of  proteids,  albuminoids  and  carbo-hydrates 
conveyed  no  meaning  to  my  mind  except  as  having  something  to  do  with  raising  fai 
cattle  and  feeding  pigs. 


20  THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 

I  have,  however,  a  propensity  for  statistics,  although  no  one  values  fifgures  less 
or  distrusts  them  more  than  I  do,  unless  I  can  wrest  from  them  their  true  meaning. 
In  some  of  my  social  s*;udies  the  figures  disclosed  to  me  the  rather  appalling  fact, 
namely, — that  the  price  of  life  to  about  nine-tenths  of  the  people  of  this  land  of 
abundance  comes  to  one-half  or  more  of  their  incomes  ;  the  supply  of  food  being 
the  source  of  material  life.  In  other  words,  half  the  cost  of  living  or  more  is  spent 
for  food  material  by  the  vast  majority  of  the  people  of  this  and  every  other  land. 
When  I  fully  comprehended  what  these  figures  meant,  my  interest  in  the  victualling 
department  became  aroused. 

At  about  the  time,  some  five  years  since,  when  these  figures  had  interested  me, 
after  a  long  rest  from  any  practical  work  in  the  food  question,  I  happened  to  be 
passing  over  a  new  factory  then  in  process  of  construction,  which  was  to  be  insured 
in  the  Factory  Mutual  Insurance  Company,  of  which  I  am  president.  It  was  the 
noon  hour  and  the  workmen  were  opening  their  dinner  pails.  When  I  saw  what 
was  in  them  my  interest  in  the  victualling  department  took  on  a  practical  direction. 
I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  invent  a  cooking  pail  in  which  a  workman  might 
carry  his  food  to  the  place  of  his  work,  cook  it  after  he  got  there,  and  have  a  hot 
and  nutritious  dinner  at  12  o'clock.  Incomplete  and  somewhat  clumsy  as  these 
pails  which  are  before  you  may  be,  I  am  very  far  on  toward  the  accomplishment  of 
my  purpose.  All  inventions  help  each  other.  I  shall  soon  be  in  possession  of  a  new 
burner,  which  is  already  invented  for  a  kerosene  lamp,  by  means  of  which  such  per- 
fect combustion  of  kerosene  oil  may  be  assured  as  perhaps  to  require  no  glass 
chimney.  It  will  need  only  a  perforated  plate  for  a  wind  guard.  I  shall  then 
be  able  to  attach  a  platform  to  the  bottom  of  my  pail  on  which  I  may  place  a  small 
lamp  which  will  do  the  cooking  in  the  two  cooking  boxes,  which  can  be  put  inside 
the  pail,  each  containing  one  pound  of  food  ;  one  day  a  meat  stew  in  one  of  the 
boxes,  oatmeal  in  the  other ;  another  day,  a  fish  chowder  in  one,  and  an  apple 
dumpling  in  the  other. 

In  the  use  of  these  pails  the  question  is  no  longer  with  me,  "  What  can  I  do  ? '' 
but  "  What  can  I  not  do  ?  "  The  work  is  almost  incredible  that  may  be  done  in 
this  simple  device.  When  the  lamp  and  pail  are  all  in  one  piece,  that  can  be  carried 
in  one  hand,  less  cumbrous  than  even  this  one,  my  mission  to  the  workman  will 
have  been  accomplished.  He  may  find  a  suitable  place,  either  in  doors  or  out  of 
doors,  to  hang  up  the  pail,  where  it  will  be  out  of  the  way  of  sharp  winds  ;  light  the 
lamp,  and  at  noon  have  his  hot,  nutritious  and  perfectly  digestible  meal  ready  for 
him  to  partake  of. 

In  my  progress  toward  this  objective  point  I  have,  according  to  the  common 
custom,  worked  by  devious  ways.     I  have  wasted  a  good  deal  of  money  and  a  good 


THE  SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION.  •  21 

deal  of  time,  mainly  because  I  am  not  a  master  of  any  science  and  because  my  prac- 
tice is  wholly  empirical.  In  my  profession  I  am,  however,  obliged  to  take  note  of 
the  progress  of  almost  all  the  sciences,  and  the  rule  is  about  the  same ;  through 
devious  and  complex  methods  to  ultimate  simplicity.  Yet  more  :  I  am  very  often 
called  upon  to  take  note  of  the  many  things  which  science  has  not  yet  accomplished, 
or  has  only  partly  accomplished.  In  the  little  lamp  in  which  the  complete  com- 
bustion of  a  small  quantity  of  liquid  fuel  may  be  accomplished  without  a  chimney, 
I  may  find  evidence  that  I  have  not  been  far  wrong  in  a  remark  that  I  have  often 
made  about  the  combustion  of  fuel  under  boilers  for  the  purpose  of  making  steam, 
to  wit :  that  even  when  we  have  applied  all  the  knowledge  that  science  has  yet  im- 
parted to  us,  our  ignorance  of  the  true  method  of  converting  coal  into  power  may 
be  measured  by  the  height  of  our  chimneys  and  by  the  strength  of  the  draught  or 
blast  that  we  must  apply  in  order  to  keep  up  the  combustion  of  the  coal.  I  think 
gaseous  fuel  must  soon  come  into  almost  universal  use,  for  smelting,  generating 
steam,  and  for  cooking  also. 

If  that  remark  has  any  approach  to  being  true  in  respect  to  the  combustion  of 
fuel  under  the  modern  boiler,  how  much  greater  our  ignorance  must  be  in  the 
application  of  coal  to  the  processes  of  cooking.  If  a  small  part  of  the  paper  upon 
which  this  treatise  is  written  were  compressed  and  made  use  of  in  the  way  that  coal 
is  now  consumed  in  the  modern  marine  boiler  to  drive  the  engine  of  the  steamship, 
this  paper  would  serve  to  generate  force  enough  to  drive  much  more  than  a  ton  of 
food  and  its  proportion  of  a  freight  steamer  two  miles  upon  the  sea,  and  yet  in  the 
best  marine  boilers  and  engines  I  believe  less  than  twelve  per  cent,  of  the  potential 
of  the  fuel  consumed  is  converted  into  work.  Yet  such  is  our  ignorance  of  the 
right  methods  of  applying  heat  to  the  cooking  of  food  in  our  common  iron  stoves 
or  ranges,  that  we  burn  more  pounds  of  coal  than  the  number  of  pounds  of  food  to 
which  the  heat  is  to  be  applied.  If  the  common  range  or  stove  now  in  position  in 
your  dwellings  were  used  only  for  heating  the  kitchen,  boiling  water,  boiling 
potatoes  and  heating  water  for  circulation  through  the  house,  the  saving  of  the 
mere  excess  of  coal  which  is  now  burned  in  order  to  force  the  oven  to  a  heat  suitable 
for  quick  cooking  would  weigh  more  than  the  food  to  which  that  heat  is  applied. 
I  think,  but  I  am  not  sure  on  this  point,  that  one-half  or  more  of  the  coal  which  is 
now  used  to  do  the  cooking,  as  well  as  to  warm  the  kitchen  and  heat  water,  may  be 
saved  by  the  adoption  of  my  apparatus  for  the  cooking,  while  only  depending  on  the 
ordinary  range  or  stove  for  the  rest  of  the  service.  That  is  the  testimony  of  my 
cook  in  my  own  winter  house,  where  my  kitchen  is  very  large  and  is  on  the  north 
side,  on  the  top  of  a  hill  in  the  country.  At  my  summer  place  by  the  sea-side  1 
have  not  had  a  pound  of  coal  on  the  premises  for  three  years.     We  burn  a  little 


22  '  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTEITIOST. 

wood  in  the  cooking  stove  for  special  purposes,  but  the  greater  part  of  our  woru:  is 
done  in  my  ovens. 

Yet  this  saving  of  fuel  is  the  matter  of  the  very  least  relative  importance,  if  I 
may  safely  accept  the  conclusions  which  others  have  reached  on  the  testimony  of 
now  nearly  two  hundred  witnesses.  It  almost  required  this  great  mass  of  testimony 
to  convince  myself  of  the  facts  in  this  case,  and  to  give  me  the  necessary  confidence 
to  appear  before  you  and  others. 

It  is  the  waste  of  food  and  the  conversion  of  good  food  into  had  feeding  that  is 
the  motive  of  my  work  and  of  this  address. 

I  may  perhaps  venture  to  name  this  treatise  a  "Sermon  upon  the  Potato 
Gospel, ''  borrowing  that  phrase  from  Carlyle.  If  it  is  a  sermon  of  serious  purport, 
as  I  think  it  may  be  entitled  to  be  called,  I  may  divide  it  into  the  customary  three 
parts  of  a  discourse  : 

1st.      The  Selection  of  Food. 

2nd.     The  Preparation  of  Food. 

3rd.      The  Application  of  Heat  to  its  Chemical  Conversion. 

As  to  the  last  title,  one  may  perhaps  ask.  Why  use  three  long  words  and  five 
short  ones?  Why  not  say  "cooking"  at  once,  and  have  done  with  it?  I  will 
presently  give  you  good  reasons  for  my  choice  of  this  phrase. 

In  regard  to  the  selection  of  food.  If  it  were  a  question  of  feeding  horses,  cows 
or  pigs,  all  the  necessary  information  could  be  found  in  almost  innumerable  pop- 
ular treatises,  magazines  and  agricultural  papers.  Any  one  can  learn  in  a  day  how 
much  and  what  to  give  to  a  trotting  horse  ;  how  much  and  what  to  feed  to  a  work- 
ing horse  ;  how  much  and  what  to  put  before  a  milch  cow  or  a  pair  of  oxen  ;  but  if 
one  of  you  had  asked,  only  a  little  while  since,  how  to  select  the  right  ingredients 
and  proportions  of  food  for  the  nutrition  of  men  and  women,  you  could  only  be 
referred  to  some  abstruse  and  scientific  treatises.  Even  yet  the  more  popular 
treatises  of  Prof.  Atwater,  of  Prof.  Church,  of  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  of  Mrs.  Ellen 
H.  Eichards  and  others,  are  apparently  but  little  known  ;  while  Mrs.  Abel's  "  Lomb 
prize  essay"  upon  cooking  is  the  only  American  cookery  book  known  tome  in  which 
any  exact  instructions  are  given  for  working  with  a  measured  heat.  If  there  are 
any  cookery  books  except  French,  known  to  any  one  among  my  hearers,  in  which 
the  heat  that  is  to  be  applied  is  defined  in  anything  but  general  terms, — such  as  a 
slow  oven  or  a  quick  oven, — I  should  be  glad  to  have  the  title  of  the  work. 

Again,  every  one  who  has  anything  to  do  with  horses  or  cows  knows  the  differ- 
ence between  oats  and  corn ;  between  horse  hay  and  rowen.  He  may  even  know 
that  the  proteids  or  nitrogenous  elements  of  the  oats  are  required  to  maintain  the 
muscular  energy  of  the  horse.     He  may  know  that  the  fat  in  Indian  corn,  cracked. 


THE   SCIEJSTCE   OF   NUTEITION".  23 

can  be  assimilated  by  the  working  horse,  generating  greater  but  slower  force.  He 
may  know  that  the  full  proportion  of  starch  (carbo-hydrates)  must  go  either  with 
the  nitrogen  or  fat  in  due  proportion.  To  how  many  has  it  ever  occurred  that 
there  should  be  as  definite  instructions  for  feeding  men  and  women  as  there  now 
are  for  feeding  horses  and  cows?  The  food  of  men  must  be  suitable  to  the  kind  of 
work  and  to  the  intensity  of  the  work — so  that  it  may  be  assimilated.  Each 
human  being  must  have  the  true  proportion  of  proteid,  of  fat  and  of  starcli,  with 
lesser  proportions  of  the  mineral  salts  ;  else,  even  with  an  abundance,  he  may  not  be 
well  nourished.  True,  that  through  a  process  of  natural  selection,  and  by  way  of 
experience  without  scientific  knowledge,  each  race  and  each  nation  has  found  out 
the  kind  of  food  or  the  combinations  that  will  give  the  right  proportions  of  nutri- 
ents at  the  least  cost.  But  as  a  rule  the  food  of  men  and  women  is  served  without 
the  slightest  attention  to  proportions  or  to  waste,  following  only,  under  the  pressure 
of  necessity,  a  sort  of  blind  instinct.  I  do  not  propose  to  bring  each  man  or  each 
woman  to  a  measured  quantity  every  day.  That  would  be  very  foolish  to  undertake  ; 
but  may  there  not  be  certain  broad  and  general  rules,  which,  when  once  laid  down, 
may  serve  to  give  direction  to  the  purchase  of  food  material,  thereby  assuring  full 
nutrition  with  the  saving  of  that  vast  waste  which  is  almost  a  disgrace  to  this 
nation? 

The  chemical  standards  of  nutrition  which  have  been  established  by  Professor 
Voit  and  others  in  Germany,  by  Sir  Lyon  Playfair  in  England,  by  Dr.  Pavey,  and 
other  competent  authorities,  vary  in  some  measure  from  the  American  standard. 
What  I  name  the  American  standard  is  that  which  has  been  elaborated  mainly 
through  the  investigations  of  Professor  William  0.  Atwater,  Mrs.  Ellen  H.  Rich- 
ards, and  others.  It  contains  a  somewhat  larger  proportion  of  fat  than  the  Euro- 
pean dietaries ;  perhaps  thereby  becoming  more  suitable  to  the  colder  and  more 
changeable  conditions  of  the  climate  of  the  northern  section  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  the  more  energetic  life  of  our  people. 

When  the  chemical  units  of  nutrition  in  all  these  various  dietaries  are  computed  in 
units  of  heat  or  Calories  they  are  all  substantially  uniform  —  through  this  conversion  the 
computation  of  standard  dietaries  becomes  very  simple  and  can  be  varied  according  to  the 
age,  sex  and  the  kind  of  work  for  which  the  food  is  to  supply  energy. 

If  we  may  now  adopt  the  Calorie  as  the  unit  of  nutrition,  it  becomes  a  very 
simple  matter  to  prepare  rules  and  tables  that  shall  be  a  true  guide  to  intelligent 
persons  in  the  purchase  and  in  the  consumption  of  food;  not  day  by  day,  but  by  the 
adoption  of  standards  corresponding  in  every  way  to  the  chemical  elements  and 
to  the  units  of  heat,  say  for  thirty  days.  I  think  we  may  even  put  the  whole 
art    of    nutrition    by    and  by,  into    the    common    school    arithmetics,   in    the    form    of 


24:  THE   SCIEIirCE    OF   NUTKITION. 

examples  of  addition,  multiplication  and  the  like;  it  seems  to  me  that  they  would 
be  very  much  better  lessons  for  children  than  many  of  the  logical  puzzles  in  figures 
which  I  have  found  in  the  school  arithmetics  that  are  wholly  unfit  to  be  there;  per- 
plexing children  instead  of  teaching  them. 

I  have  made  some  progress  in  this  matter,  and  I  will  hereafter  submit  some  of 
the  results  in  the  form  of  tables.  They  have  not  yet  been  revised  by  competent 
authorities  to  the  full  extent,  but  are  in  a  broad  and  general  way  consistent  with 
the  true  standards  of  nutrition. 

The  Calorie  or  mechanical  unit  of  heat  may  well  be  adopted  as  the  unit  of 
capacity  for  work  either  mental  or  manual — either  with  hand  or  brain.  In  its 
application  to  food  material  it  works  its  conversion  into  nutritious  food,  and  in  the 
further  conversion  of  the  food  by  assimilation  to  the  sustenance  of  the  body  it  is 
the  synonym  for  healthy  existence,  strength  and  activity.  To  the  direction  of  this 
force,  and  to  the  end  that  it  may  make  and  not  mar  wholesome  living,  attention  is 
now  being  given. 

The  exact  standard  of  nutrition  for  a  man  at  active  but  not  excessive  work  is 
750  grams  of  actual  nutritive  and  digestible  material  free  of  water;  450  of  carbo- 
hydrates or  starch;  150  of  fats;  150  of  protein;  with  such  mineral  ingredients  as 
will  be  found  in  any  miscellaneous  dietary  in  sufficient  measure.  These  elements 
will  yield  3,520  Calories  or  mechanical  units  of  heat,  the  Calorie  being  the  amount  of 
heat  necessary  to  raise  one  kilo  or  1,000  grams  of  water  one  degree  centigrade.  Of 
course  persons  vary  in  the  quantity  of  food  which  can  be  assimilated,  according  to 
many  varying  conditions  of  life. 

In  order  to  make  allowance  for  unavoidable  waste  we  may  safely  adopt  4,000 
Calories  as  the  average  units  of  nutrition  for  a  man  at  active  but  not  excessive  work 
for  one  day. 

On  this  unit  we  may  make  variations  by  percentage  in  ratio  to  the  kind  ot 
work  done,  the  sex  and  the  weight  of  the  consumer. 

In  about  the  ordinary  proportions  of  grain,  meat  and  vegetables  in  which  food 
is  purchased,  I  find  that  one  pound  containing  the  proportions  of  starch,  fat  and 
nitrogen  required  b}-  the  American  standard  yields  about  1,200  Calories. 

A  day's  ration  of  4,000  Calories  therefore  calls  for  three  and  one-third  to  three, 
and  a  half  pounds  of  food  material  of  the  ordinary  kinds.  Tea,  coffee  and  the 
sugar  and  cream  used  therein,  water  or  other  liquids  consumed  as  beverages,  not 
being  included  in  this  computation.  Beverages,  except  cocoa,  possess  but  little 
food  value. 

Now,  while  it  might  be  unreasonable  to  expect  an  exact  measure  or  unit  of 
nutrition  to  be  adopted  and  put  in  practice  day  by  day,  it  becomes  a  very  simple 


THE   SCIEifCE    OF   NUTRITION.  25 

matter  to  establish  a  rule  for  the  purchase  of  100  pounds  of  food  per  month,  or 
thirty  days'  rations  at  three  and  one-third  to  three  and  a  half  pounds  each. 

As  a  tentative  measure  yet  to  be  more  accurately  computed^  I  have  made  the 
following  table  consistently  with  those  general  rules. 

It  is  not  a  fancy  table.  In  order  to  get  a  true  basis  for  the  retail  prices  of  the 
cheaper  kinds  of  food  in  Boston,  some  of  which,  notably  the  prices  of  potatoes  and 
ot  course  hominy  or  samp,  are  very  high,  I  employed  a  lady  who  is  much  interested 
m  this  matter  to  get  prices  in  Boston  at  the  South  End,  the  superintendent  of  a 
branch  of  the  New  England  Kitchen  at  the  North  End,  the  colored  cook  who  is 
employed  in  my  office  kitchen  at  the  West  End,  and  my  office  boy,  a  bright  lad,  to 
get  prices  in  the  neighborhood  of  our  largest  market — Quincy  Market.  I  averaged 
these  four  returns  in  making  this  table,  and  I  have  printed  them  all  in  one  of  my 
circulars. 

My  first  table  is  made  on  the  basis  of  the  cheaper  kinds  of  meat  and  fish  and 
the  best  kinds  of  flour,  grain  and  vegetables,  all  bought  at  retail.  There  is  a  con- 
siderable margin  for  reduction  if  these  articles  were  bought  in  large  quantities.  If 
bread  is  bought  rather  than  baked  at  home  on  my  methods,  the  price  of  bread 
taken  at  two  and  a  half  cents  a  pound  must  be  doubled  in  Boston.  In  New  York 
you  can  buy  better  bread  at  three  cents  a  pound  cash  at  Mr.  Samuel  Howe's  National 
Bakeries  than  we  can  get  in  Boston  at  six  cents. 

In  reducing  the  pounds  of  food  to  nutrients  and  Calories  I  have  assumed  that 
the  meat  and  vegetables  will  be  purchased  in  variety  and  I  have  therefore  taken 
<he  average  of  each  class  of  foods  in  my  computation. 

Thirty  days'  rations,  yielding  substantially  1,200  Calories  per  pound,  in  the 
proportion  of  three  elements  of  starch  to  one  of  protein  and  one  of  fat. 

Milk  may  be  substituted  for  some  of  the  meat  fat  or  pork,  but  of  course  in  much 
larger  measure  by  weight. 

See  subsequent  tables  given  in  Part  II,  which  have  been  carefully  corrected 
since  this  lecture  was  given. 

Table  No.  1  is  now  given  as  an  example.  This  is  given  in  place  of  a  less  accu- 
rate dietary  which  was  given  in  the  original  lecture. 


•2G 


THE  SCIEJS'CE   OF   NUTRITIOiTc 


Dietary  No.  1,  for  30  Days. 

Suitable  in  nutrients  (protein,  starch  and  fats)  and  in  Calories  or  mechanical 
equivalents  of  heat,  to  the  full  nutrition  of  an  adult,  occupied  in  work  which  gives 
moderate  exercise.  Price  of  flour  by  the  sack  or  barrel — all  other  prices  for  small 
quantities  at  retail, 

CONSTANTS  SUITABLE  TO  DIETARIES   1   TO   13,    INCLUSIVE. 


33  lbs.  Flour  at  2)4,  cts. 

.55 

3   "    Oatmeal,  at  4  cts. 

.12 

3   "    Oommeal,  at  3  cts. 

.09 

6   "    Hominy,  at  4  >^  cts.     . 

.27 

2   "    Butter,  at  38  cts. 

.56 

3   "    Suet,  at  6  cts. 

.12 

10   '•    Potatoes,  at  2;^  cts.    . 

.25 

3   "    Sugar,  at  5  cts. 

.10 

3   "    Cabbage,  at  3  cts. 

.09 

3   "    Carrots,  at  3>^  cts.      . 

.05 

3   "    Onions,  at  5>^  cts. 

.11 

57 

3.31     Calories,  79,770 

CONSTANTS  IN  QUANTITY,    VARIABLE  IN  PRICE  ACCORDING  TO   KIND  AND  QUALITY. 


Low  priced. 

13  lbs 

Beef, 

neck  or  shin. 

at  6  cts.     . 

5    " 

Mutton,  neck,  at  6  cts. 

4   " 

Bacon,  at  13  cts. 

,           , 

2    " 

Beef  liver,  at  6  cts. 

, 

1    <' 

Veal, 

at  8  cts.    . 

.           . 

1    " 

Pork, 

at  8  cts.    . 

.           . 

.72 

.30 

.48 

.12 

.08 

.08 

1.78 

Calories, 

24,356 

$4.09 

104,036 

.136 

3,461 

.952 

25 

83  lbs.  total,  30  days,    .... 
3  73-100  lbs.  for  one  day, 

Cost  per  week,       .... 

With  less  meat  and  fat  and  more  vegetables  and  milk  the  weight  will  be  sweater. 

The  exact  standards  of  American  nutrition  are  much  higher  than  those  of 
Europe,  as  they  may  well  be  in  order  that  the  much  higher  rates  of  wages  which 
our  people  earn  may  be  fully  justified  and  sustained  by  the  greater  amount  of 
potential  energy  which  our  abundant  product  of  food  enables  us  to  supply  at  low 
cost.     They  are  as  follows: 


THE  SCIEITCE  OF   NUTRITION. 


27 


With  Waste 

Exact. 

Added. 

4,060 

Calories,  4,600 

3,520 

4,000 

2,815 

8,200 

2,300 

2,600 

No.  1.  Man  at  hard  work,  .... 

"  2.  Man  at  moderate  work,    .... 

"  3.  Man  at  light  exercise  or  woman  at  moderate  work, 

"  4.  Woman  at  light  exercise. 

On  this  basis,  on  the  cost  of  the  foregoing  standard,  Class  1  would  require 
daily : 

8  7-8,  say  4  lbs.  food,  about  1,200  Calories  per  lb.,  at  5  cents  per  lb.,  .  .  20  cts. 
Class  2. 

8  3-8,  say  3  1-2  lbs.  food,  about  1,200  Calories  per  lb.,  at  5  cents  per  lb.,  .  17  1-2  cts. 
Class  3. 

2  5-8,  say  2  3-4  lbs.  food,  about  1,200  Calories  per  lb.,  at  5  cents  per  lb.,  .  13  3-4  cts. 
Class  4. 

2  1-8,  say  2  1-4  lbs.  food,  about  1,200  Calories  per  lb.,  at  5  cents  per  lb.,      .      12  1-3  cts. 

On  a  minimum  basis,  therefore,  yet  one  which  may  be  readily  adopted,  the 
nutritive  material  which  is  necessary  for  a  man  at  hard  work  in  Boston  can  be  pur- 
chased in  small  quantities  at  retail  prices  at  20  cents  a  day  or  $1.40  per  week. 

For  a  man  at  moderate  work,  at  17^  cents  a  day  or  $1.32^  per  week. 

For  a  man  at  light  exercise  or  a  woman  at  moderate  work,  at  13f  cents  a  day 
or  .96^  per  week. 

For  a  woman  at  light  exercise,  at  12|^  cents  a  day  or  .87^  per  week. 

As  these  purchases  would  be  made  in  pounds,  and  as  in  every  element  a  suitable 
addition  has  been  made  for  what  may  be  called  reasonable  waste,  the  common 
measure  would  be  substantially  as  follows: 


PER  DAT 

Meats,. 

, 

about    10      oz. 

Suet  or  Fat, 

u            1           u 

Salt  Pork, 

"       1      " 

Butter, 

1  1-2  " 

Fish,     .... 

"          3         " 

Bread, 

14         '•* 

Hominy,  Oat  and  Corn  Meal, 

u            g           a 

Beans  or  Pease, 

u          2         " 

Sugar, 

u          3         '* 

Boots  and  other  Vegetables, 

"        12  1-2  " 

54  ounces. 

That  does  not  sound  like  a  very  meagre  diet. 


28  THE   SCIENCE  OF   NUTRITION". 

If  eggs  are  added  at  four  per  week  at  3  cents  each  (city  prices  for  fresh  eggs),  .13  cts. 

With  fruit  at  per  week,        ........  .09   " 

Tea  and  Coffee, 07   " 

Four  cents  per  day,    ........  .38  cts. 

thfe  unit  of  nutrition  at  the  low  priced  standard  would  be  as  follows: 


PER  DAY. 

Class  1, 

Required 

Food,  30 

Add  Eggs,  Fruit  and 

Beverage  at  4  cts. , 

.24 

"     2, 

1  i 

"      17  1-3 

U                ((               U           li 

"        at  4     " 

.21  1-2 

"     3, 

u 

"      13  3-4 

<l                 (<               U            tl 

"        at  4    " 

.17  3-4 

"    4, 

(( 

"      13  1-2 

u            u           u        u 
PER  WEEK. 

•'        at  4     " 

.16  1-2 

Class  1, 

$1.88 

including  Eggs,  Fruit  and  Beverages. 

"     2, 

1.50  1-3 

((           i(         (( 

(( 

"     3, 

1.34  1-2 

((           ((         (( 

(( 

u    4^  115  1.2 

I  am  not  yet  prepared  to  say  how  much  this  ration  No.  1  would  weigh  with  the 
water  added  in  the  processes  of  cooking. 

The  bread  is  computed  with  the  water  in  it  which  the  flour  takes  up  at  40  per 
cent,  on  the  weight  of  flour. 

Meats  and  fish  may  be  combined  with  water  in  different  portions.  As  the 
coarse  or  tough  parts  are  better  in  soups,  stews  and  hashes,  the  water  added  would 
be  in  large  proportion. 

Hominy  and  meal  take  up  several  times  their  weight  in  water,  while  vegetables 
shrink  both  in  the  preparation  and  in  cooking.  I  should  think  this  unit  of  nutri- 
tion at  three  and  one-third  pounds  would  weigh  about  five  pounds  after  cooking. 
I  am  too  much  of  a  sedentary  man,  and  I  find  that  my  average  ration  of  cooked 
food  with  water  taken  up  in  the  process,  aside  from  beverages,  is  about  three  and  a 
half  pounds,  and  on  the  basis  of  the  dietary  submitted  I  could  live  well  at  $1  per 
week. 

In  anticipation  of  this  meeting  I  devoted  Fast  Day,  April  3d,  to  some  experi- 
ments. I  caused  one  of  my  ovens  to  be  substantially  filled  with  food,  in  eight 
combinations.  This  experiment  is  repeated  in  one  of  these  ovens  to-night,  which 
we  will  presently  open. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 


29 


The  food  purchased  was  as  follows,  at  Brookline  prices: 

MEAT  AND  FISH. 

2     lbs.  Shin  Beef,  without  bone,  7  cents, 
2       "    Veal,  "  "5  cents, 

2       "    Beef  Liver, 
Bacon, 


1-2 


1-2 


Mutton  flank, 
Suet, 

Halibut  Nape, 
Salt  Pork, 


13  lbs.  Meat  Fat  and  Fish, 

1      lb.  Hominy, 

3-4  *'  Oatmeal, 

1       "  Com  Meal, 

1-4  "  Rice, 


3  lbs. 


4  lbs.  Potatoes, 

1  "    Turnips,  onions,  etc., 

5  lbs. 

4  lbs.,  2  quarts.  Skimmed  milk, 
Salt,  Spice,  etc.,  say 


GRAIN. 


VEGETABLES. 


.14 

.10 
.16 
.07 
.10 
.05 
.10 
.06 


.04 
.03 
.03 
.02 


.10 
.05 


.78 


.13 


.15 
.16 
.04 

$1.25 


20  lbs.  solid,  .... 

4     *'    liquid, 
12  ".   water, 

36  lbs.  Put  into  the  oven  at  9. 80  a.  m. 
Removed  from  oven  at  2  p.  m. 
Weight  of  cooked  food,  32  lbs. 
Loss  by  evaporation  of  water,  4  lbs. 

I  have  not  computed  the  Calories  or  nutrients  in  this  quantity.  It  is  intended 
to  show  what  can  be  done  in  one  oven  at  one  time.  It  took  somewhat  less  than  one 
hour  to  prepare  the  eight  combinations,  namely  one  dish  each :  Beef  and  hominy 
hash;  veal,  hominy  and  tomato;  mutton  stew;  liver  and  bacon  with  corn  meal; 
halibut  nape  and  potato,  baked;  oatmeal,  plain;  poor  man's  pudding;  baked  Indian 
pudding. 


30  THE  SCIENCE   OF   N"UTRITIOK. 

You  may  presently  test  the  quality  of  these  combinations.     We  have  put  in 
forty  pounds  this  time  and  may  take  out  thirty-five  to  thirty-six. 

With  such  a  lot  of  food,  strong  in  fat  and  nitrogen,  there  should  be  at  least 
twelve  pounds  of  bread  and  twelve  pounds  of  vegetables,  say  twenty-four  pounds 
at  two  and  a  half  cents=.60. 

24  lbs.  added,         ........  .60 

36  lbs.  cooked  as  recited,  .  .  .  .  .  .1.35 

Add  for  dried  apple  sauce  or  some  cheap  kind  of  fruit,  .  .  .15 

Total,  60  lbs.,  at  a  cost  of  $2.00 

You  don't  half  believe  it.  Nor  did  I  until  I  had  proved  it  more  than  once. 
Presently  you  shall  have  an  object  lesson  when  this  oven  is  opened. 

Now,  if  my  methods  of  combining  nutrition  and  arithmetic  by  the  standard  of 
Calories  and  nutrients  has  no  other  result,  it  may  lead  to  as  much  attention  being 
given  to  the  nutrition  of  the  human  beings  in  city  institutions  as  is  given  to  feeding 
the  horses  in  the  city  stables.  From  some  communications  that  have  been  made  to 
me  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  right  at  this  point  is  a  place  for  scientific  charity. 

I  gave  a  seven-course  dinner  party  at  my  house  a  few  days  since  to  my  whist 
club  and  friends,  including  oranges  and  coffee,  which  cost  thirteen  cents  each  for 
food  material.     Each  cigar  consumed  after  dinner  cost  more  than  the  dinner. 

I  lately  gave  a  dinner  of  four  courses,  soup,  fish,  meat  and  vegetables,  and 
mush  with  molasses  for  dessert,  to  nine  of  the  poorer  students  at  Harvard  who 
want  to  economize,  and  there  were  three  others.  Each  had  a  pound  and  a  half  of 
strong  food.     The  cost  for  the  twelve  was  sixty-one  cents. 

The  quantity  of  oil  of  150  degree  flash  test  that  will  be  consumed  on  this  forty 
pounds  of  food  will  be  one  and  a  half  pints  at  one  and  a  half  cents  per  pint,  two  and 
a  quarter  cents. 

There  may  be  some  variations  to  be  made  on  the  American  standard. 

In  the  judgment  of  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  with  whom  I  consulted  personally, 
we  concentrate  our  food  a  great  deal  too  much  in  this  country;  we  fine  down  our 
flour  and  lose  in  nutrition  as  well  as  in  bulk;  we  also  eat  too  much  meat  and  fat. 
Moreover,  the  ration  of  meat  and  fat  which  may  serve  us  well  in  winter  may  serve 
us  ill  in  summer. 

In  order  to  meet  these  variations  we  may  change  the  thirty  day  dietary. 
When  we  substitute  more  grain  and  vegetable  food,  we  reduce  the  Calories  per 
pound,  and  we  therefore  require  more  pounds  a  day. 

We  may  also  change  the  nutrients  from  3  starch  to  1  protein  and  1  fat  to  four 
starch,  1.1  protein  and  1  fat. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION".  31 

In  Part  II  tables  one  to  twelve,  inclusive,  will  serve  as  a  true  guide  in  this 
matter,  but  the  proportions  must  be  subject  to  variation  by  personal  experience, 
for  all.     (See  revisions  in  subsequent  tables.)     There  is  no  hard  and  fast  rule. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  these  low-priced  dietaries  we  have  not  included  eggs. 
In  our  factory  boarding-houses  in  Massachusetts,  the  consumption  of  eggs  per  adult 
is  one  every  other  day.  One  egg  every  other  day,  at  16J  cents  a  dozen,  comes  to  $3  a 
year  per  adult.  We  may  compute  our  present  population  as  being  equal  to  50,000,- 
000  adults;  50,000,000  adults,  at  $3  each,  would  spend  $150,000,000  a  year  for  eggs. 

The  factory  boarding-house  standard  cannot  be  declared  a  very  extravagant 
one,  as  "  the  Mealers, "  who  come  from  a  distance  to  their  work,  are  supplied  and 
served  with  twenty-one  meals  per  week,  at  $1.60  to  $1.75  for  women  ;  $2.00  to  $2.25 
for  men. 

I  know  of  no  other  place  where  such  fairly  well-cooked  meals  are  furnished  at 
so  small  a  charge.     Of  course  there  is  no  rent  charged  to  this  account. 

This  is  a  sketch  of  the  elements  of  the  science  or  art  of  nutrition  which  may 
perhaps  be  perfected  and  may  possibly  be  taught  in  the  common  school  arithmetics. 

I  have  thus  presented  a  theory  of  nutrition  at  a  minimum  cost.  But  it  could 
only  be  attained  in  practice  under  our  existing  conditions  by  people  of  more  than 
common  intelligence.  It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  attain  with  the  use  of  the 
cooking  apparatus  now  in  common  use;  yet  at  this  standard,  witness  to  what  incom- 
prehensible figures  we  are  led  when  dealing  with  the  whole  mass  of  our  population. 

Whoever  is  right  as  to  the  enumeration  of  the  census  year,  we  now  number  about 
65,000,000  in  1891.  If  we  make  the  utmost  reduction  for  children  of  ten  or  under, 
keeping  in  consideration  the  larger  need  of  growing  children  from  ten  to  seventeen; 
also  bearing  in  mind  the  great  proportion  of  all  who  get  their  living  by  "the  sweat 
of  their  brow "  and  who  must  have  ample  nutrition,  we  cannot  estimate  the  con- 
sumption of  food  at  less  than  what  would  be  required  by  50,000,000  adult  men  at 
active  or  moderate  work  or  women  at  active  work,  corresponding  in  their  require- 
ments to  a  standard  of  nutrition  somewhat  under  Class  2  and  little  over  Class  3, 
or  14J  cents  a  day,  which  comes  to  one  dollar  a  week  for  food;  to  which  we  may 
add  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  a  week  for  eggs  or  milk,  tea,  coffee  and  fruit. 

At  $52  per  year  the  food  necessary  to  sustain  50,000,000  adults  comes  to  $2,600,000,000 

At  $13  per  year,  the  eggs  or  milk,  tea,  coffee  and  fruit  come  to  .  .  650,000,000 

Food  and  wholesome  beverages,      .  .  .  .  \  .  $3,250,000,000 

The  most  conservative  estimate  of  the  cost  of  beer,  wine  and  spirits  to 

the  consumers  is        ......  ,  750,000,000 


Total  (in  1895  total  at  least  $5,000,000,000)       .  .  .  $4,000,000,000 


32  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTEITION. 

The  problem  with  which  we  are  dealing  to-night  in  the  mere  alphabet,  we  are 
at  the  mere  beginning  of  an  attempt  to  apply  the  same  science  to  the  nutrition  of 
man,  that  we  have  so  long  been  attempting  to  apply  to  the  nutrition  of  the  soil, 
the  plant  and  the  beast  of  the  field;  our  problem  is  how  to  cook  not  less  than 

Three  Billion   Dollars'  Worth   of  Meat,    Fish,  Grain   and  Vegetables 
A  Year  (in  1895,  say  Four  Billion). 

I  think  you  will  admit,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  that  it  was  quite  time  to  apply 
science  in  the  kitchen  and  to  develop  a  true  and  simple  art  of  cooking. 

At  what  price  will  you  measure  the  waste  of  labor,  the  waste  of  fuel,  the  waste 
of  heat,  the  waste  of  comfort,  the  waste  of  temper,  the  waste  of  health,  the  waste 
of  morality  and  sobriety  due  to  the  waste  upon  whisky  which  is  again  due  to  lack 
of  well-cooked  food?  Is  this  waste  a  billion  dollars'  worth  of  potential  energy  a 
year?    Is  it  not  a  great  deal  more? 

Perhaps  you  will  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  potato  gospel  will  bear  a  great 
deal  of  preaching. 

Ought  there  not  to  be  a  cooking  laboratory  attached  to  every  agricultural 
experiment  station?     Would  one  be  out  of  place  even  in  Columbia  College? 

But,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  there  is  another  aspect  of  this  case.  True  economy 
does  not  consist  in  living  on  shin  of  beef  or  halibut  nape.  Very  few  people  can 
afford  to  waste  the  time  that  would  be  required  to  live  at  a  cost  of  a  dollar  a  week, 
or  at  fourteen  cents  a  day,  unless  obliged  to  do  so.  There  is  a  certain  horse-sense  in 
the  reply  of  the  workman  to  some  of  these  suggestions  when  he  says,  "We  don't 
want  your  bone-soup"  and  "We  won't  have  your  pig- wash.  Give  us  something 
better  than  what  we  are  used  to,  or  better  cooked  than  we  now  get  it." 

Suppose  we  double  the  price,  put  up  the  prices  of  the  animal  food  to  rates 
which  would  be  paid  for  good  solid  meat  free  of  bone  and  of  good  quality;  add  a 
pint  of  milk,  an  excess  of  butter  and  one  egg  every  day.  I  think  this  ration  cor- 
responds closely  to  the  average  consumption  and  expenditure  in  the  families  of 
well-to-do  people;  if  we  add  to  this  food  ten  cents  a  day  for  tea,  coffee,  condiments 
and  fruit,  we  make  the  total  equal  to  fifty  cents  a  day  for  each  inmate  of  the 
household. 

It  is  probable  that  much  more  than  half  a  pound  of  clear  meat  free  of  bone  is 
brought  into  the  kitchen  of  well-to-do  people  who  are  not  extravagant,  for  each 
adult  every  day.  I  have  made  a  few  inquiries  at  some  of  the  very  best  hotels — and 
am  satisfied  that  there  are  many  in  which  the  price  paid  for  food  per  day  is  one 
dollar  per  inmate  or  two  dollars  per  guest,  counting  one  person  in  the  service  of 
the  house  to  each  guest. 


THE   SCIEISTCE   OF   NUTEITIOiT. 


33 


Table  2,  Computed  at  Fifty  Cents  per  head  Ikcludhstg  Extras. 
Four  pounds  food  at  about  1,300  Calories  per  pound  =  4,800  Calories,   one 
pound  milk  added,  310  Calories,  making  five  pounds  =  5,110  Calories. 

.10 


1-4  "  Fish,               "            "            16    "         " 

.04 

1-4  "   Butter,           *•            "            36    "         " 

.09 

1  Egg,           "           "           36    "  perdoz.,    . 

.03 

1        "   1  Pint  Milk,         .... 

.04 

1        "  Bread, 

.03 

1-4  "  Oatmeal,  rice,  hominy  or  corn  meal,     . 

.01 

11-4  •'  Vegetables,          .... 

.03 

1-3  '«   Sugar,      ..... 

.03 

5  lbs.  .40  cts. 

Tea,  Coffee,  Fruit  and  Spices  extra.  .10  " 

This  would  be  an  excessive  allowance  for  a  man  at  very  hard  work,  if  it  were  all 
cooked  in  such  a  way  that  it  could  be  assimilated;  with  water  added  it  would  weigh 
as  much  as  seven  pounds. 

You  will  find  that  fifty  cents'  worth  a  day  per  inmate  comes  into  your  houses, 
even  if  you  think  you  live  rather  simply.  It  cannot  be  consumed.  How  much  is 
wasted? 

I  myself  eat  about  three  and  a  half  pounds  a  day,  including  soup,  but  not 
including  fruit  or  beverages. 

At  my  standard  about  three-fifths  of  that  ration,  at  forty  cents,  or  twenty-four 
cents'  worth,  suffices. 

If  proper  methods  of  cooking  were  adopted  and  right  methods  of  utilizing 
what  is  now  wasted  in  the  ordinary  method  of  buying  and  preparing  this  food 
material,  all  the  potential  energy  in  this  dietary  could  be  enjoyed  by  the  average 
adult,  at  twenty-eight  cents  a  day  or  in  round  figures  at  two  dollars  per  week. 

At  two  dollars  a  week  the  food  bill  of  50,000,000  adults  comes  to  $5,300,000,000 
a  year. 

By  statistical  analysis  of  our  crops  and  food  products,  projected  from  the  gross 
valuations  and  wholesale  data  to  their  points  of  ultimate  consumption,  I  am  fully 
satisfied  that  the  food  bill  of  this  country  is  in  fact  as  much  as  five  billions  of  dol- 
lars and  is  probably  more. 

I  am  also  satisfied  that  one-fifth  part  of  this  huge  volume  of  good  material  is 
converted  into  lad  feeding.     In  other  words,  for  lack  of  science  in  the  economy 
of  the  kitchen  $1,000,000,000  worth  a  year  of  potential  energy  is  wasted.     How  • 
shall  we  save  it? 


34  THE  SCIENCE   OF   IfUTRITION". 

Life  is  but  a  conversion  of  force  which  takes  the  form  of  clothing,  food  and 
shelter.  That  is  all  that  any  of  us  get  out  of  the  material  products  by  which  we 
are  sustained,  sheltered  and  clothed. 

If  this  misdirection  of  force  of  one  billion  dollars*  worth  were  converted  by  the 
saving  of  that  part  of  the  potential  energy  in  the  food  consumed  which  is  now 
wasted — or  if  this  force  were  given  a  new  direction  into  the  work  that  would  be 
required  to  provide  house-room — nearly  twice  the  shelter  now  enjoyed  would  ensue. 
The  worst  problem  with  which  we  are  called  to  deal  would  then  be  solved — the 
housing  of  the  masses. 

The  family  now  in  one  room  could  have  two;  the  destruction  of  the  poor  is 
their  poverty,  and  the  worst  waste  of  food  is  among  them.  The  family  now  in 
three  rooms,  if  once  taught  the  art  of  nutrition,  might  have  five,  and  those  who 
now  have  as  many  rooms  as  are  required  could  direct  the  force  now  wasted  to  greater 
comfort  and  to  the  higher  plane  which  only  in  the  long  run  makes  life  worth  living. 

Have  my  figures  led  you  away  into  visionary  conceptions,  such  as  any  one  may 
find  in  the  dry  columns  of  statistical  science  if  only  he  has  the  eye  to  see  what  is 
written  between  the  lines  or  is  inscribed  behind  the  columns? 

Let  us  then  get  back  at  once  to  ovens  and  to  the  practical  problem  of  food  and 
feeding.  I  have  expended  as  much  money  as  I  can  afford  in  my  own  empirical  but 
somewhat  practical  methods  of  developing  this  oven.  My  good  friends,  Mr.  Andrew 
Carnegie,  his  partner  Mr,  Phipps,  and  several  of  my  Boston  friends  have  furnished 
a  part  of  the  means  by  which  Mrs.  Richards  has  been  enabled  to  work  out  the 
scientific  application  of  right  methods  of  applying  heat  to  some  of  the  processes  of 
cooking.  A  very  benevolent  lady,  whose  life  is  full  of  good  works,  has  furnished 
the  capital  for  establishing  the  New  England  Kitchen,  through  which  the  products 
of  my  process  as  well  as  of  other  processes  of  plain,  wholesome  cooking  are  being 
distributed  on  a  commercial  basis,  in  the  shape  of  wholesome,  nutritious  and  well- 
cooked  food  at  moderate  prices  which  yield  a  reasonable  profit. 

I  have  now  engaged  a  competent  teacher  of  cooking,  who,  under  the  general 
direction  of  Mrs.  Richards,  will  work  out  the  beginning  of  the  problem  of  a  cook- 
ing laboratory.  As  I  have  stated,  it  is  in  this  matter  that  I  may  move  faster  the 
better  I  am  sustained.  I  shall  devote  my  own  profits  in  the  oven  business  to  the 
oven  development  as  far  as  they  may  go.  I  do  not  desire  any  assistance  from  any 
one  in  that  part  of  my  undertaking,  but  the  development  of  a  cooking  laboratory 
opens  a  much  wider  field  and  it  is  beyond  me.* 


*  Subsequently  to  this  lecture  Mr.  Theodore  A.  Havemeyer  placed  Jl.OOO  at  my  disposal  for  further  research 
and  J6,000  at  the  disposal  of  Professor  Egleston  for  the  establishment  in  New  York  of  a  kitchen  correspond- 
ing to  the  New  England  Kitchen  of  Boston. 


THE  SCIENCE   OF  ifUTRITIOlT.  35 

We  will  now  come  to  the  second  part  of  my  discourse — the  preparation  of  food. 
After  having  filled  a  shelf  in  my  library  full  of  cookery  books,  to  which  I  have  given 
careful  attention,  adding  treatises  on  nutrition  and  physiological  essays  on  alimen- 
tation, I  have  come  to  a  very  simple  conclusion  covering  the  whole  ground.  The 
two  simple  rules  for  qualifying  any  one  after  a  little  practice  to  become  a  good  plain 
cook  and  first-rate  bread  maker  may  be  repeated. 

Take  a  little  heat  ofE  the  top  of  a  small  lamp;  put  it  into  a  wooden  box:'With  a 
little  water  in  order  to  raise  your  bread;  take  some  heat  ofE  the  top  of  a  large  lamp, 
put  it  into  a  wood-pulp  or  paper  box,  and  keep  it  there  to  bake  your  bread  or  to 
cook  your  food.     That  is  the  first  rule. 

In  the  preparation  of  food  the  single  rule  is  this  :  Take  one  part  of  gumption 
and  one  part  of  food;  mix  them  together  in  a  dish  or  pan,  then  put  the  compound 
into  the  oven  and  keep  it  there  long  enough  for  the  heat  to  do  the  work.  Practice 
will  soon  tell  each  one  how  long. 

It  is  not  a  very  difficult  matter,  for  instance,  to  make  bread.  I  thought  it  had 
been  until  I  tried.  Then  I  found  that  bread-making  in  the  common  way,  kneading 
by  hand,  took  a  good  deal  of  muscle  and  not  much  mind;  but  I  do  not  fancy  paws 
and  perspiration  in  my  bread;  the  idea  is  unpleasant  even  to  speak  of.  After  my 
first  lesson  I  therefore  taught  my  cook  how  to  mix  the  dough  with  a  stout  wooden 
spoon.  There  is  nothing  new  in  the  method.  I  now  find  that  a  few  people  had 
learned  this  secret  before,  but  not  many.  The  work  can  be  done  just  as  well  and 
more  quickly.  My  objection  to  the  ordinary  method  was  well  expressed  in  a  story 
lately  told  me  by  an  old  gentleman  who  took  his  little  grandson  to  the  bakery.  The 
next  day  the  boy  wanted  to  go  again,  and  gave  this  reason:  ''I  want  to  see  that 
fat  man  who  was  washing  his  hands  in  the  brown  bread.  He  gave  me  a  cooky." 
We  now  use  the  Stanyan  bread-kneader,  which  is  a  sort  of  mechanical  spoon  and 
knife  combined;  it  is  much  easier  to  work  than  the  wooden  spoon. 

I  then  found  that  there  was  apt  to  be  a  good  deal  of  trouble,  delay  and  uncer- 
tainty in  raising  the  dough.  I  therefore  bought  a  Case  Bread-Raiser,  which  assures 
the  exact  measure  of  fermentation  in  three  and  a  half  to  four  hours.  With  these 
three  bits  of  apparatus,  the  kneader,  the  raiser  and  the  oven,  any  one  who  can  read 
can  learn  to  make  good  bread  in  half  an  hour  so  as  never  to  miss  it.  Baking  takes 
two  hours  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  already  heated,  or  a  longer  period  if  you  like  a 
thick,  tender  crust  and  tawny  color,  with  nutty  flavor  all  through  the  loaf,  due  to 
the  partial  change  of  the  starch  into  dextrine  or  grape  sugar.  Here  are  examples 
of  bread  which  no  human  hand  has  touched  even  from  the  time  the  wheat  was 
planted  until  it  was  taken  from  the  pan  in  which  the  loaf  was  baked. 

But  suppose  we  lay  out  a  dinner.     (See  subsequent  instructions.) 


36  THE  SCIENCE  OF   NUTRITION. 

I  told  my  office  boy  one  day  to  prepare  Just  a  dinner  of  five  courses  for  ten 
people.  He  had  never  cooked  anything  before.  He  went  and  did  it.  Every  one 
said  it  was  a  good  dinner,  and  I  thought  so  myself.  That  kind  of  a  dinner  is  in 
one  of  these  ovens. 

If  the  true  object  in  cooking  is  to  develop  and  retain  all  the  fine  natural  flavor 
of  meat,  fish,  vegetable,  fruit  and  grain;  if  the  right  method  is  one  that  will  pre- 
vent the  more  volatile  portions  of  the  fats  and  juices  being  carried  off  in  bad  smells; 
if  you  desire  that  the  food  after  it  is  cooked  shall  be  in  a  perfectly  nutritious  and 
digestible  condition,  the  oven  indicates  the  way  to  attain  all  these  objects.  There 
is  no  constant  watching,  no  stirring  the  materials  over  a  hot  stove  to  prevent  scorch- 
ing or  burning.  If  you  desire  sauces  or  gravy  they  can  be  prepared  over  another 
lamp  or  in  a  chafing  dish.  There  are  no  heavy  hods  of  coal  to  be  lifted.  There  is 
no  dust.  There  are  no  ashes  to  be  removed.  One  quart  of  oil  burning  eight  hours 
in  one  of  these  lamps  gives  off  heat  enough  from  the  top  of  the  chimney  to  cook 
fifty  or  sixty  pounds  of  bread,  meat  and  vegetables,  in  three  separate  charges.  In 
one  of  these  ovens  now  before  you  there  are  forty  pounds  of  eight  different  kinds 
of  food,  which,  when  served,  will  have  had  expended  upon  them  one  pint  and  a  half 
of  oil  valued  at  about  two  cents. 

I  have  observed  that  in  nearly  all  the  cookery  books  or  recipe  books  the  chief 
part  of  the  rules  laid  down  are  for  making  combinations  of  food  material;  rules  for 
the  proportions  of  each;  the  quantity  of  meat  and  other  material;  the  pounds  of 
flour;  the  dozens  of  eggs;  the  ounces  of  sugar  and  spice  and  the  way  to  mix  them. 

Of  course,  any  person  of  common  intelligence  can  follow  these  printed  rules  for 
such  combinations. 

I  next  observe  that  almost  all  the  other  instructions  in  the  books  are  mainly 
directed  to  overcoming  the  defects  in  the  common  stoves  and  ranges.  You  are  told 
how  to  stir  the  compounds  in  order  to  prevent  scorching  or  burning;  how  the  pan 
must  first  be  placed  at  a  given  point  and  just  brought  to  a  simmer  without  being 
allowed  to  boil,  and  then  moved  to  another  part  of  the  stove  where  the  material 
will  only  simmer.  You  are  told  that  for  some  things  you  must  have  a  hot  oven  or 
a  quick  oven;  for  others  a  slow  oven;  but  no  acc'urate  definition  is  given  as  to  what 
**  quick  ^'  or  '^'slow  "  may  happen  to  be. 

All  these  variations  in  the  directions  and  in  the  processes  may  be  attributed  to 
the  irregularity  and  to  the  constant  high  heat  which  is  due  to  the  continuous  blast 
and  to  the  method  of  combustion  that  is  necessary  to  keep  up  any  roasting  or 
baking  heat  in  the  oven  of  the  iron  range  or  stove.  You  are  told  that  you  must 
not  accumulate  vapors  in  the  oven,  because  they  may  be  noxious.  This  is  all  non- 
sense.    If  the  oven  is  subjected  to  the  right  method  of  heat  the  vapor  of  the  food 


THE   SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION.  37 

itself  is  the  best  surrounding  that  you  can  give  it.  But  when  you  crack  or  disso- 
ciate fats,  then  it  is  necessary  to  remove  the  vapor  in  order  to  avoid  the  unpleasant 
flavor  which  burnt  fat  may  give  to  what  is  being  cooked.  I  can  place  and  have 
often  placed  meat,  fish,  cauliflower,  onions,  tomatoes  and  custard  pudding  in  the 
same  oven  at  the  same  time.  Neither  imparts  any  flavor  to  the  other,  because  I 
only  evaporate  a  little  water  from  either  kind,  without  distilling  or  dissociating  the 
juices  or  the  fats.  How  many  times  I  have  heard  ladies  exclaim,  "  How  I  wish  I 
could  teach  my  cook  how  to  simmer  anything.  Why  will  they  always  keep  such  a 
roaring  fire?^^ 

My  first  invention  was  what  might  have  been  called  a  hot-water  oven;  an 
apparatus  in  which  one  could  only  simmer  and  stew.  I  tried  to  introduce  it  first 
among  those  who  need  instruction  most,  but  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
only  way  to  help  the  ignorant  poor  is  first  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  rich. 

To  speak  seriously,  the  true  method  of  developing  this  subject  is  to  deal 
neither  with  rich  nor  poor,  but  with  those  who  possess  intelligence  and  who  desire 
to  avoid  waste,  I  have  lent  out  twelve  or  more  cooking-pails;  some  of  them  to 
ladies  who  are  teachers,  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  getting  their  own  breakfast 
and  dining  at  restaurants;  some  of  them  to  students  in  Harvard  University  who 
are  under  the  necessity  of  working  through  at  the  least  cost;  some  of  them  to 
ladies  of  my  acquaintance  who  are  eager  to  try  experiments  for  the  benefit  of  others^ 
and  so  on. 

The  next  question  which  I  propose  to  solve  in  my  present  series  of  experiments 
and  in  my  cooking  laboratory,  under  the  direction  of  an  experienced  teacher  of  cook- 
ing, will  be  the  making  of  sauces  and  flavors  that  may  correspond  to  or  bring  out  yet 
more  fully  the  natural  flavors  of  the  solid  food  with  which  they  are  served.  I  think  that 
the  greater  part  of  the  complexity  of  the  customary  rules  and  methods  for  working 
in  this  department  may  be  done  away  with.  I  think  that  where  one  has  a  sure  and 
certain  control  over  the  source  of  heat,  the  making  of  fine  sauces,  which  is  one  of 
the  secrets  of  the  professed  cooks,  may  become  as  simple  as  the  cooking  of  the  food 
itself.  This  is  not  fancy  work.  It  is  a  true  part  of  the  science  of  nutrition.  In 
spite  of  the  gross  waste  of  the  multitude  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  many  per- 
sons, especially  among  the  more  cultivated  classes  of  the  community,  are  not  suf- 
ficiently nourished  because  they  try  to  live  too  simply,  or  do  not  choose  the  right 
kinds  of  food.  We  may  also  find  women,  especially  those  who  serve  in  shops,  who 
live  on  very  poor  food  and  drink  any  quantity  of  tea  because  they  do  not  know  ho¥ 
to  prepare  good  food  or  how  to  tempt  the  palate  by  making  it  appetizing.  I  thin! 
it  is  an  important  element  in  the  science  of  nutrition  to  overcome  these  depraved 
tastes  by  tempting  the  palate  with  appetizing  sauces  that  can  induce  these  classes  of 


38  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 

people  to  eat  more  nutritious  food.  These  are  merely  impressions  which  I  have 
gained  from  my  empirical  studies.  Probably  many  of  you  among  my  hearers  are 
more  competent  to  pass  upon  this  point  than  I  am  myself. 

If,  then,  the  absolute  control  of  the  source  and  the  measure  of  heat  is  so 
important,  are  we  not  led  directly  to  the  question,  "  In  what  does  good  cooking 
consist?"  And  that  question  brings  me  to  the  third  part  of  my  discourse.  It  con- 
sists in  the  application  of  heat  to  the  chemical  conversion  of  food  material  into 
nutritious  and  appetizing  food.  It  is  a  somewhat  difficult  scientific  problem  to 
bring  into  the  form  of  rules,  but  I  am  convinced  that  when  these  rules  are  estab- 
lished the  art  may  be  made  very  simple,  and  may  be  readily  taught  to  any  one  of 
ordinary  comprehension  and  aptitude. 

What  is  the  function  of  heat  in  its  application  to  food  ?  My  scientific  friends 
must  give  the  chemical  statement  of  the  work.  In  its  practical  result  is  it  not  to 
convert  the  hard  grain  into  nutritious  bread? — the  raw,  sapid,  tough  and  tasteless 
fibers  of  meat  into  tender  and  appetizing  dishes? — to  render  it  possible  to  get  the 
infusion  of  coffee  from  the  roasted  berry? 

Now,  when  you  bear  in  mind  the  messes  that  are  so  often  put  before  you — the 
bad  bread,  the  hard,  indigestible  and  offensive  products  of  the  American  frying-pan 
and  all  the  other  abominations  that  come  out  of  the  kitchen — you  may  begin  to 
appreciate  the  importance  of  holding  complete  control  over  the  source  of  the  heat 
so  that  it  can  be  regulated. 

What  intelligent  control  can  any  one  exert  over  the  heat  derived  from  anthra- 
cite coal  in  an  iron  stove  or  range?  What  does  the  average  cook  know  about  what 
is  going  on  in  the  oven? 

Is  not  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  heat  derived  from  the  fuel  which  is  either 
forced  by  the  strong  draft  up  the  chimney  or  else  radiated  into  the  room?  I 
wonder  what  part  of  the  potential  of  the  coal  is  converted  into  actual  work  in  our 
common  processes  of  cooking? 

When  we  put  instruments  which  are  scarcely  fit  to  be  used  by  the  most  skillful 
cooks  into  the  hands  of  untrained  and  uninstructed  persons  and  demand  of  them  a 
fine  process  of  chemical  conversion,  what  right  have  we  to  expect  any  better  results 
than  what  we  get? 

Itseemstomemoststrangethatit  should  have  remained  for  myself  to  devise  an 
oven  made  of  non-metallic  and  non-heat  conducting  material  in  which  heat  may  be  en- 
cased at  any  established  degree.     Why  have  not  ovens  always  been  made  in  this  way  ? 

I  have  kept  heat  for  a  long  time  at  over  400°  P.,  in  a  small  oven  of  which  the 
paper  or  wood-pulp  wall  was  only  five-eighths  of  an  inch  thick,  yet  I  could  bear  my 
hand  anywhere  upon  the  outer  case. 


THE  SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION.  39 

May  I  not  then  claim  the  following  results  in  my  processes  of  conversion  ? 

1st.  Digestibility.  The  long  application  of  a  very  moderate  degree  of  heat 
makes  all  tough  meats  tender. 

2nd.  Although  I  add  nothing  to  the  nutrients  which  are  in  the  food,  I  avoid 
much  evaporation  of  the  contained  water.  Is  not  the  food  more  digestible  as  well 
as  more  appetizing  in  consequence  of  this  retention  of  all  its  natural  juices  and 
nearly  all  the  water  that  is  in  it  when  in  the  uncooked  condition? 

3rd.  By  keeping  the  heat  below  the  dissociating  or  "  cracking  "  point  of  the 
animal  fats,  do  I  not  keep  the  fat  in  a  condition  to  be  assimilated  in  the  process  of 
digestion?  Whereas,  is  it  not  true  that  a  high  heat  which  drives  off  the  volatile 
portion  of  the  fat  leaves  the  remainder  in  an  indigestible  condition? 

4th.  That  my  processes  do  most  fully  preserve  and  develop  the  fine,  natural 
flavors  of  grain,  fruit,  meat,  fish  and  vegetables  is  now  so  fully  proved  by  the  testi- 
mony of  very  many  witnesses  that  this  point  may  no  longer  be  put  in  the  form 
of  a  question. 

For  a  long  time  I  suspected  my  own  imagination  of  misleading  me:  but  one 
lady  has  written  me  that  last  summer  she  tasted  for  the  first  time  many  vegetables 
which  she  had  been  eating  all  her  life. 

Neither  is  it  any  longer  necessary  for  me  to  put  questions  about  the  relief  from 
care,  attention  and  discomfort,  or  from  dust  and  ashes;  here  is  the  testimony,  not 
yet  of  a  thousand,  but  of  more  than  a  hundred  witnesses  on  these  points. 

There  is  one  aspect  of  this  question  which  gives  me  great  satisfaction. 

It  opens  the  way  to  the  re-establishment  of  the  unit  of  the  family  as  the  unit 
of  society  and  of  civilization. 

Our  success  in  adopting  the  collective  method  in  our  great  factories  and  work- 
shops, in  which  after  all  only  about  ten  per  cent,  of  our  working  population  are  oc- 
cupied: our  success  in  solving  the  problem  of  moving  a  year's  supply  of  meat  and 
bread  a  thousand  miles  at  a  cost  to  the  common  laborer  of  a  day's  wages:  our  suc- 
cess in  diminishing  the  margin  of  profit  on  the  railway  service  to  so  low  a  point  that 
if  the  New  York  Central  could  get  the  present  value  of  the  empty  barrel  at  the  end 
of  the  haul  of  a  barrel  of  flour  a  thousand  miles  it  would  pay  ten  per  cent,  in  place 
of  five,  has  put  a  glamour  over  a  great  many  otherwise  sensible  people. 

Even  some  who  claim  to  be  economists  want  to  adopt  the  collective  method  or 
to  extend  it  over  all  the  conditions  of  society.  Hence  the  rush  to  the  legislature 
and  to  Congress  to  remedy  all  the  ills  of  life  by  legislation.  One  man  would  abolish 
poverty  by  piling  all  the  taxes  on  land;  another  by  nationalizing  industry,  whatever 
that  may  mean;  another  by  stopping  importations  and  making  more  work  with  less 
product;  another  by  destroying  all  the  tenement  houses,  as  if  no  house  at  all  were 


40 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 


better  than  some  kind  of  a  house  when  it  is  overcrowded  and  dirty,  and  so  on 
throughout  the  gamut. 

It  seems  to  me  that  we  shall  never  elevate  humanity  until  we  teach  men  and 
women  how  to  live.  We  shall  never  make  homes  happy  except  we  work  on  the 
unit  of  the  family. 

If  I  can  show  how  a  family  of  five  can  be  nourished  as  well  and  as  cheaply  as 
a  phalanstery  of  five  hundred  then  I  may  claim  that  in  developing  the  simple  art  of 
nutrition  and  in  doing  away  with  what  one  of  my  correspondents  calls  **the  slavery 
of  stove  "  I  may  deserve  a  pleasant  remembrance  in  the  homes  of  the  future. 

I  am  now  prepared  to  present  my  object  lessons  and  to  answer  any  questions  if 
they  are  not  too  scientific. 

(Subsequently  to  the  delivery  of  the  lecture,  the  contents  of  the  five  ovens  and 
four  pails  were  served  to  about  two  hundred  people.) 


THIS   Sv'mpTUOus  f^EPAST  Vv/aJ  OBfAijNjED 
\hZ  PRINCESS   COULD  ;^0T  40NtEAU 
HER,  ASTO/yiSHNlEAlt' 

ALADDIN    AMD  THl  WONOERfUL  LAMP. 


THE    ALADDIN    OVEN. 

WHAT  IT  IS. 

It  occurred  to  me  one  day  that  heat  could  be  put  into  a  box,  kept  there,  and 
converted  into  work — the  work  of  cooking. 

What  sort  of  a  box? — an  iron  box?  —no,  iron  will  not  hold  the  heat,  it  wastes  it, 
and  seems  to  cook  the  cook  and  not  the  victuals.  The  ovens  of  stoves  and  ranges, 
are  iron  boxes  and  are  therefore  not  fit  to  be  used. 

Why  should  the  iron  boxes  which  make  the  ovens  of  iron  stoves  and  ranges 
be  ventilated?  Because  in  order  to  cook  food  in  them  at  all,  such  an  excess  of  heat 
must  be  applied  that  they  become  fat  boilers,  or  fat-rendering  machines ;  the  foul 
smells  generated  in  this  process  are  not  wanted  in  any  house. 

What  is  the  effect  of  this  process  on  the  food  ?  This  boiling  or  rendering  is  a 
process  of  partial  distillation  or  dissociation;  the  fats  are  '' cracked"  as  the 
chemists  term  it — the  finer  volatile  parts  and  flavors  are  thrown  off,  generating  un- 
pleasant smells  in  the  process,  while  the  residue  of  the  fat  is  left  in  a  gross  and  in- 
digestible condition  with  the  other  tissues  which  are  deprived  of  their  fine  flavor. 

That  is  the  reason  why  it  does  not  much  matter  what  one  calls  for  at  many 
hotels  and  restaurants,  all  the  meat  tastes  alike  or  is  tasteless  alike. 

Why  not,  then,  apply  heat  directly  to  the  food  in  an  oven  like  the  common  kero- 
sene stove  oven  ? 

For  many  reasons  :  If  the  lamp  smokes  or  smells  the  food  is  tainted  ;  the  direct 
heat  scorches  or  burns  without  the  slow  penetration  which  is  needed  in  fine  cooking; 
the  direct  heat  also  dessicates  the  food  and  drives  off  the  fine  volatile  flavors. 

Conclusion. — All  metal  ovens, — all  ventilated  ovens — and  all  ovens  in  which 
excessive  heat  is  applied  to  food,  are  more  or  less  unsuitable  to  fine  cooking.  To 
that  radical  conclusion  my  observations  have  led  me. 

Having  cleared  away  the  obstructions  by  condemning  almost  every  kind  of  ap- 
paratus  now  in  use  except,  of  course,  a  well-devised  broiler  to  be  used  over  char- 
coal — or  an  old-fashioned  brick  oven — or  a  tin  kitchen  before  an  open  fire — the  next 
question  was : 

What  can  be  done  about  it  ? 

Men  have  no  right  to  scold  their  wives,  or  use  swear  words  about  the  cook,  and 
find  fault  with  their  meals  in  a  constant  and  promiscuous  way,  if  they  only  supply 


42  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 

them  with  apparatus  to  cook  with  that  is  not  fit  to  be  used  ;  or  which  is  so  infernal 
in  the  heat  that  it  generates,  as  to  make  it  no  wonder  that  those  who  have  been  of 
an  angelic  type  and  temper  before  beginning  to  keep  house,  should  exhibit  a  capacity 
of  another  kind  afterwards  which  may  vex  a  patient  man  but  ought  not  to  cause 
him  to  complain. 

The  way  out  of  this  dilemma  is  for  every  boy  to  be  put  in  the  way  of  learning 
how  to  make  first-rate  bread,  and  to  do  all  kinds  of  plain  cooking,  in  one  lesson  of 
one  hour  by  a  little  teaching  in  the  simple  principles.  Girls  may  be  taught  as 
well,  if  they  can  spare  the  time  from  more  important  duties. 

In  the  Aladdin  Oven,  the  heat  is  put  into  an  outer  oven  made  of  non-metallic 
and  non-heat  conducting  material,  which  is,  in  fact,  a  form  of  stiff  paper,  made 
from  wood  pulp  combined  with  other  substances.  Inside  is  a  food  receptacle 
nearly  as  large  as  the  outer  oven,  made  of  sheet  metal. 

The  heat  passes  around  the  thin  iron  wall  of  the  inner  oven  through  which  it 
penetrates  in  even  measure.  This  inner  oven  is  closed  so  that  the  products  of  com- 
bustion and  the  direct  drying  heat  of  the  lamp  cannot  enter  it.  It  is  provided  with 
a  ventilator  which  is  used  only  in  special  cases. 

THE  STANDARD  ALADDIN  OVEN  has  an  inside  space  18  inches  in  width, 
12  inches  in  depth,  and  14  inches  in  height ;  it  is  fitted  with  movable  shelves  so  as 
to  divide  it  horizontally  into  not  over  four  compartments.  An  oven  of  extra  size 
with  a  cooking  space  21  by  13  by  15  inches  is  made  on  special  orders.  Cylindrical 
Ovens  suitable  for  cooking  for  two  to  six  persons  are  in  progress,  but  the  exact 
dimensions  and  prices  cannot  yet  be  determined. 

LAMPS. 

The  lamp  to  be  used  with  this  oven  may  be  either  the  Rochester,  made  by 
Edward  Miller  &  Co.,  Meriden,  Conn.  ;  the  Gladstone,  made  by  the  Gladstone 
Lamp  Company,  10  East  14th  street.  New  York  ;  the  Daylight,  made  by  the 
Craighead  &  Kintz  Manufacturing  Company ;  the  Banner  Lamp,  made  by  the 
Plume  &  Atwood  Manufacturing  Company ;  the  lamps  made  by  the  Bradley  & 
Hubbard  Manufacturing  Company ;  the  Belgian  American  Lamp,  made  by  the 
company  of  that  name,  31  Barclay  street,  New  York,  the  Pittsburgh  lanij^,  or  any 
other  lamp  of  similar  kind  which  has  a  circular  wick  about  one  and  a  half  inches 
in  diameter,  with  a  central  duct  to  convey  air  from  below  to  the  wick.  In  these 
lumps  a  practically  perfect  combustion  is  assured  provided  they  are  hept  in  good 
order.  When  carefully  managed  they  may  be  worked  either  at  full  height  or  less, 
without  smell  or  smoiie. 

If  desired,  the  lamps  will  be  furnished  at  cost  to  them  by  the  makers  of  the 
oven,  and  will  be  packed  in  the  oven  ;  the  oven  is  packed  inside  the  table,  from 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION.  43 

which  it  should  be  removed  with  care  ;  the  table  should  then  be  either  on  a  stand, 
step,  box,  or  table,  from  12  to  18  inches  in  height. 

When  the  "full  equip7nent'^  is  ordered  the  second  table  is  furnished  with  the 
oven  and  the  metallic  table.  If  a  lamp  is  used  which  is  too  high  to  be  put  under 
the  oven,  then  the  metallic  table  can  be  set  up  higher  upon  some  blocks.  If  the 
lamp  is  too  low  for  the  top  of  the  chimney  to  be  about  even  with  the  bottom  of  the 
outer  oven,  then  the  lamp  must  set  up  on  some  blocks. 

Inside  the  oven  will  be  found  one  iron  shelf  with  the  edges  turned  down  and 
without  any  holes  in  it ;  this  shelf  should  be  placed  upon  the  bottom  of  the  inner 
oven  to  keep  the  dishes  a  little  off  from  actual  contact  with  the  bottom,  so  as  to 
prevent  burning  at  the  point  where  the  heat  strikes.  The  other  perforated  shelves 
may  be  used  or  not,  according  to  the  number  and  height  of  the  vessels  in  which 
food  is  to  be  cooked. 

THE  ALADDIN   OVEN. 

VS^HAT   IT   DOES. 

It  cooks  any  and  all  kinds  of  food-material  by  processes  corresponding  to 
Boasting,  Baking,  Simmering,  Stewing,  Braising,  Sautding,  Broiling,  Grilling.  It 
can  be  applied  bo  making  omelets  or  griddle  cakes,  and  with  a  lamp  or  gas  burner 
of  high-heating  power  frying  by  immersion  in  very  hot  fat  can  be  accomplished 
(but  had  better  be  omitted),  both  doors  of  the  oven  being  kept  open  in  order  to  give 
suitable  attention  to  the  process. 

Breakfasts,  for  a  family  of  eight  or  ten,  can  be  prepared  more  quickly  in  all 
usual  forms  in  this  oven,  by  the  use  of  a  single  lamp,  than  it  can  be  when  it  is 
necessary  to  light  a  fire  in  the  common  stove  or  range. 

The  cooking  of  oatmeal,  cracked  wheat,  hominy,  soups,  meat  stews,  and  many 
kinds  of  fruit  can  all  be  done  safely  and  thoroughly  at  night. 

GENERAL   INSTRUCTIONS    FOR    USE    OF   THE    ALADDIN   OVEN. 

In  adjusting  the  oven  for  use,  care  should  be  taken  that  the  tube  in  the  top 
through  which  a  ventilating  tube  passes  to  the  inner  oven,  is  adjusted  upon  the 
nipple  which  is  upon  the  top  of  the  inner  oven.  This  tube  when  properly  adjusted 
rests  flat  upon  the  top  of  the  outer  oven  and  does  not  project,  as  in  the  first  ovens 
made. 

The  lamp  which  is  furnished  with  the  Oven  may  be  readily  adjusted  to  heating 


44  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 

the  Oven  by  placing  it  underneath  and  resting  it  upon  a  block  of  wood  or  on  a 
plate  or  saucer  reversed,  of  such  height  as  to  carry  the  top  of  the  chimney  even 
with  the  under  side  of  the  outer  oven.  With  this  adjustment  the  maximum  of 
heat  will  be  conducted  into  the  Oven  and  there  will  be  no  tendency  to  smoke  from 
too  close  a  contact  of  the  top  of  the  chimney  with  the  metal.  The  lamp  should  not 
be  put  at  the  full  height  at  which  it  may  be  expected  to  burn,  for  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  after  it  is  lighted,  lest  it  should  smoke. 

The  oven  will  not  become  fully  seasoned  and  will  not  do  its  work  with  full 
effect  until  about  two  weeks  after  it  is  first  put  into  use.  Usually  the  iron  movable 
shelf  which  rests  upon  the  bottom  of  the  inner  oven,  keeping  pans  and  dishes  about 
half  an  inch  away  from  absolute  contact  with  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  should  be 
kept  there  in  all  processes  of  roasting,  baking  or  simmering.  When  it  is  desired  to 
broil,  this  shelf  should  be  taken  out.  In  a  process  corresponding  to  broiling,  the 
large  pan  with  the  wire  drainer  in  it  should  be  put  in.  The  slices  of  meat,  chops 
or  chicken  should  be  laid  upon  this  wire  drainer,  where  they  will  be  cooked  in  a 
manner  closely  corresponding  to  broiling. 

For  aauteing  the  pan  should  be  put,  with  a  little  butter  in  it,  directly  upon  the 
bottom  of  the  oven.  The  cold  Indian  pudding,  the  fish,  or  whatever  subject  may 
be  in  process  of  sauteing,  should  then  be  laid  in  the  pan  and  watched  until 
it  is  done. 

In  order  to  toast  bread,  remove  both  the  shelf  and  the  pan ;  place  the  wire 
frame  directly  upon  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  lay  the  slices  of  toast  upon  the  wire. 

When  many  kinds  of  food  are  to  be  cooked  at  one  time  in  the  same  oven,  some 
of  which  may  give  off  a  good  deal  of  water  by  evaporation,  it  will  be  expedient 
to  have  a  dish  or  pan  for  the  roast  with  feet  to  it  about  half  an  inch  high,  so  as  to 
keep  the  bottom  of  the  pan  from  direct  contact  with  the  bottom  of  the  oven.  In  this 
pan  place  the  meat  that  is  to  be  roasted,  or  any  other  kind  of  food  to  which  it  is  desira- 
ble to  give  a  brown  or  crusted  appearance,  then  remove  the  close  sheet  of  iron  from 
the  bottom  and  place  these  pans  on  the  actual  bottom  of  the  oven  itself  ;  then  put 
the  close  sheet  of  iron  which  has  no  holes  in  it  on  the  middle  bearings  above  the 
roast,  and  put  the  watery  dishes  on  the  upper  spaces  and  if  necessary  open  the  ven- 
lator  a  little  so  that  the  vapor  can  escape  through  the  orifice. 

By  this  arrangement  a  comparatively  dry  and  browning  heat  will  be  attained  in 
the  lower  space,  while  the  moisture  from  the  watery  dishes  will  be  wholly  in  the 
upper  spaces. 

Under  these  conditions,  give  about  a  third  to  a  half  as  much  more  time  as  would 
be  required  in  a  common  stove  ;  with  some  kinds  of  food,  twice  as  long.  A  little 
experience  will  be  needed  with  each  oven.     Each  oven  will  require  a  few  days' 


THE  SCIEISrOE   OF   NUTRITIOK.  45 

seasoning  in  order  to  bring  it  to  its  normal  condition  and  to  overcome  a  little  odor 
which  is  given  off  by  the  material  with  which  the  wood  pulp  is  prepared. 

If  it  is  desirable  to  boil  anything  in  a  pot  or  jar,  all  the  shelves  may  be  removed 
and  the  vessel  may  be  placed  directly  on  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  over  the  lamp  ;  in 
this  case  the  ventilator  should  be  opened  to  let  off  the  steam,  but  for  ordinary  work 
it  is  not  necessary  to  open  the  ventilator. 

The  heat  of  this  oven  may  be  raised  to  about  300  to  400  degrees  with  the  lamps 
described  ;  it  will  be  a  little  hotter  at  the  bottom  than  at  the  top  ;  but  under  this 
arrangement  and  at  this  degree  of  heat,  fish,  meat,  custard,  cauliflower  and  onion 
may  all  be  cooked  together  without  any  flavor  being  imparted  from  one  to  the  other; 
because  there  will  be  no  distillation  of  the  fats  or  juices  of  the  food,  only  a  little 
evaporation  of  water.  At  a  much  higher  degree  of  heat  there  would  be  danger  of 
the  flavors  passing  over,  and  also  danger  that  the  smell  of  cooking  might  pervade  the 
room,  hence  if  a  lamp  of  larger  capacity  and  power  is  used  it  must  be  used  with  care. 

A  great  deal  of  cooking  may  be  done  very  slowly  by  night,  by  substituting  a 
common  flat-wicked  lamp,  of  moderate  power,  for  the  kind  previously  named — 
wick  one  and  a  quarter  inches  to  two  inches  wide — or  a  duplex  burner.  This 
lamp,  if  placed  in  position,  will  not  raise  the  heat  of  the  oven  above  200°  Fahr., 
at  which  degree  of  heat  grain,  meat  and  fish  may  be  very  slowly  and  tenderly 
cooked  if  left  to  take  care  of  themselves  throughout  the  night. 

IlSrSTRUCTIONS   FOR   HEATING   THE   ALADDIN    OVEN"    WITH    GAS. 

There  are  many  persons  to  whom  the  use  of  kerosene  oil  and  the  care  of  lamps 
is  objectionable. 

The  oven  can  be  worked  with  gas  burned  in  a  Bunsen  burner  as  well  as  with 
the  lamp,  but  it  will  require  a  little  experience  in  order  not  to  overheat,  or  to  scorch 
or  burn  the  food.  One  of  my  correspondents  in  Pittsburgh  applies  the  natural  gas 
with  entire  success  and  at  a  merely  nominal  cost.  (See  Appendix.)  With  the  in- 
troduction of  low  priced  gas  for  heating  purposes,  the  economy  of  fuel  applied  to 
cooking  may  become  as  great  as  when  oil  is  used. 

If  the  common  illuminating  gas  is  used,  apply  the  Bunsen  burner,  capable  of 
consuming  not  over  five  feet  an  hour  at  the  highest  pressure  to  which  the  gas  con- 
sumed on  the  premises  can  be  subjected  at  night  when  the  pressure  is  greatest. 
This  will  assure  safety  when  the  oven  is  worked  by  night. 

The  measure  of  gas  required  for  ordinary  work  by  day  will  be  readily  ascer- 
tained after  a  little  practice. 

BUNSEN    GAS    BURNER. 

The  best  form  of  Bunsen  burner  is  one  which  has  a  circular  top  with  small  per- 
forations around  the  edges,  each  yielding  a  little  tip  of  flame. 


46  THE  SCIEN^CE   OF  IfUTRITION. 

SPECIAL  INSTRUCTIONS. 

WARMING   WATER. 

Eemove  the  tin  tube  in  which  the  ventilator  is,  place  a  pan  or  kettle  of  water 
over  the  orifice  and  the  heat  from  the  oven  will  warm  it  sufficiently  for  many  pur- 
poses ;  notably  for  washing  cooking  vessels,  plates  and  dishes. 

For  this  purpose  it  is  not  necessary  or  expedient  to  use  hot  water  and  soap. 
Put  into  a  pan  of  tepid  water  a  teaspoonf  ul  of  kerosene  oil.  This  oil  has  a  great 
affinity  for  grease  with  which  it  combines  in  an  emulsion.  This  process  takes  the 
grease  from  the  pan  or  crockeryware  without  leaving  any  taint  of  either  grease  or  oil. 

Any  one  who  is  prejudiced  against  such  use  of  kerosene  oil  may  first  try  this 
process  on  greasy  dishtowels  :  Put  a  little  kerosene  oil  into  a  pan  of  tepid  water; 
soak  the  towels  in  that  emulsion,  then  pour  it  off  and  rinse  out  in  clear  cold  water. 
No  scouring  required. 

GEN'ERAL   DIRECTIONS. 

Bread. — In  baking  bread  which  has  been  kneaded  in  the  usual  way,  it  is  better 
to  make  the  loaves  so  as  to  weigh  from  one  and  one-quarter  to  one  and  one-half 
pounds  each  ;  bake  them  two  hours  or  longer  according  to  taste,  but  change  the 
position  of  the  loaves  when  about  half  baked,  placing  those  on  the  top  shelf  below, 
and  those  below  on  the  top  shelf.  If  it  is  desired  to  give  the  nutty  flavor  of  crust 
to  the  whole  loaf,  the  baking  may  be  continued  for  a  much  longer  period. 

The  Case  bread-raiser  is  a  most  useful  appliance  ;  it  consists  of  a  wooden  box 
with  an  opening  in  the  bottom,  into  which  slides  a  tin  pan,  which  may  contain 
water  half  an  inch  deep  ;  the  box  has  a  glass  front ;  about  two  inches  above  the  pan 
is  a  perforated  wooden  shelf  on  which  the  pan  of  dough  is  placed  to  be  raieed  ;  a 
little  more  than  half  way  above  is  another  similar  shelf  ;  a  very  small  kerosene  lamp 
with  a  flame  about  as  big  as  a  thumb-nail  or  a  little  larger,  is  placed  under  the 
bottom  of  the  tin  pan  ;  this  develops  a  moist  heat  by  which  the  dough  is  raised  ready 
for  the  baking  pans  in  three  and  one-half  to  four  hours,  without  regard  to  any  outside 
conditions  ;  it  may  then  be  removed  from  the  raising  pan  to  the  baking  pans,  put 
back  again  into  the  bread-raiser  for  thirty  minutes,  and  it  is  then  ready  for  the 
oven.  The  advantage  in  the  use  of  this  bread-raiser  is  that  the  time  can  be  estab- 
lished with  certainty  at  which  the  loaves  will  be  ready  for  the  oven.  The  bread 
being  made  in  the  morning  can  be  baked  in  the  afternoon,  or  after  the  dinner  has 
been  removed  from  the  Aladdin  Oven.  Orders  for  this  bread-raiser  may  be  sent  to 
Mr.  Daniel  Dudley,  91  Carver  street,  Boston. 

In  order  to  make  most  excellent  bread  with  the  least  work,  knead  with  a  spoon 
in  proportion  of  one  quart  white  flour,  or  whole  wheat  flour,  or  rye  meal,  with  one 


THE   SCIENCE    OF   NUTEITION".  47 

pint  or  a  little  less  warm  water,  salt  to  taste,  and  one-third  of  a  calce  of  Fleisch- 
mann's  compressed  yeast  (fresh)  dissolved  in  half  a  teacup  of  warm  water ;  stir 
ten  minutes  or  more  so  as  to  mix  the  yeast  thoroughly  into  a  very  thick  batter  like 
common  dough,  put  in  the  pans  and  raise  in  bread-raiser  about  three  hours,  then 
move  to  the  oveu  already  heated  and  bake  two,  three  or  four  hours,  according  to 
taste.     (See  subsequent  reference  to  a  bread-kneader.) 

Roasting. — Place  the  joint  or  poultry  in  a  pan,  baste  with  butter  and  bread 
crumbs  when  put  in,  and  place  for  the  quickest  work  upon  the  tight  shelf  which 
rests  upon  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  but  not  directly  upon  the  bottom  ;  for  slower 
work,  upon  the  next  shelf. 

Baking  or  Cooking  Fish. — Baste  with  a  little  butter  and  crumbs  of  bread  or 
cracker ;  place  in  a  pan  or  crockery  dish,  and  cook  slowly  upon  the  top  shelf,  or 
else  cook  slowly  in  a  white  sauce. 

Imitation  Broiling. — Have  a  broiling  pan  made  containing  a  grill  or  perforated 
plate  about  half  an  inch  from  the  bottom — such  as  is  furnished  with  the  oven  when 
the  order  is  given  for  a  full  equipment ;  put  the  meat  upon  this,  and  if  you  desire 
to  work  in  the  quickest  way  put  the  pan  directly  upon  the  bottom  of  the  oven  ;  if 
more  slowly,  upon  the  tight  shelf.  Cut  the  steak  two  inches  thick  if  you  want  to 
have  the  most  satisfactory  results.     Cook  sausages  in  this  way. 

Braising. — Place  the  materials  in  a  covered  vessel ;  put  on  the  cover,  and  put 
the  dish  as  near  the  top  of  the  oven  as  possible. 

Simmering. — Use  a  flat- wick  lamp  of  low  power,  and  take  all  the  time  required. 

Vegetables. — Nearly  all  vegetables,  especially  roots,  require  a  higher  degree  of 
heat  than  meat  or  grain.  Potatoes  may  be  baked  on  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  with 
the  shelf  interposed  to  keep  them  from  scorching.  Squash,  cauliflower,  onion,  and 
cabbage,  may  be  cooked  in  a  satisfactory  way,  but  it  takes  time,  which  each  one 
must  determine  by  experience.  Asparagus,  pease  and  beans  may  be  cooked  in  the 
dishes  in  which  they  are  served  ;  in  fact,  all  the  work  of  the  oven  can  be  done  in 
crockery  or  stoneware  dishes,  but  for  meats  and  large  poultry  it  may  be  better  to 
use  ordinary  baking  pans.  A  separate  table  and  separate  lamp  are  recommended 
for  boiling  potatoes  and  for  boiling  water  for  service,  when  the  cooking  stove  is  not 
heated  for  warming  the  kitchen. 

Soup  Stock. — Put  the  materials  in  a  cheese-pot  and  simmer  all  day  or  all  night 
over  a  flat-wick  lamp  with  wick  one  inch  or  one  and  a  quarter  to  two  inches  wide. 

Pastry  and  Cake. — If  the  tight  bottom  shelf  will  not  hold  all  that  is  desired 
to  bake,  put  a  part  there  and  a  part  above,  and  change  about  midway  in  the  baking. 
Apple  pies  require  two  hours.  Lemon  pies,  which  are  especially  good,  bake  one 
hour  and  a  half. 


48  THE   SCIE]SrCE  OF  NUTRITION. 

.  Game. — Venison  may  be  treated  like  any  other  meat.  Ducks,  grouse,  and  the 
larger  birds,  may  be  basted  with  butter  and  bread  crumbs,  and  roasted  slowly  and 
uniformly  according  to  taste.  Partridge  and  quail  need  no  basting,  but  may  be 
cooked  in  bread  sauce,  smothered  in  apples,  or  in  any  other  way,  at  a  moderate  slow 
heat.  Wild  duck,  grouse,  partridge,  and  quail,  placed  in  porcelain  pots,  with  a 
white  sauce  and  some  French  mushrooms  added  and  cooked  slowly,  may  give  a  new 
sensation  even  to  a  gourmand. 

Tough  meat  and  poultry  may  be  rendered  very  tender,  without  being  dried  or 
scorched,  by  slow  simmering  for  a  long  time ;  when  tender,  baste  and  roast  for  half 
an  hour  with  the  full  lamp  power. 

Brown  Bread,  Pan  Dowdy,  and  Beans,  may  be  slowly  cooked  for  a  long  time, 
and  will  be  found  to  possess  the  flavors  which  are  familiar  only  to  those  who  can 
recall  these  New  England  dainties  as  they  tasted  when  baked  in  the  old-fashioned 
brick  ovens,  before  anthracite  coal  and  iron  stoves  had  perverted  all  the  old  ways  of 
preparing  food. 

I  beg  to  add  one  more  recipe  for  making  bread  which  has  been  given  me  by  a 
baker  of  very  great  experience  : 

"  In  answer  to  your  questions  as  to  the  best  yeast  of  domestic  make  for  house- 
hold use,  I  would  say  that  the  Vienna  Compressed  Yeast  is  most  reliable. 

"  Suppose  you  try  it  thus  :  Take  one  ounce  of  yeast ;  dissolve  in  three  quarts  of 
water,  warm  as  new  milk  ;  mix  in  flour  until  as  stiff  as  thick  batter  ;  cover  over  top 
with  sifted  flour  ;  allow  it  to  rise  and  fall  flat  once.  Then  add  two  quarts  of  water, 
cool  as  drawn  from  a  well ;  dissolve  in  it  five  ounces  of  salt ;  add  flour  to  make 
suitable  dough ;  allow  it  to  remain  only  long  enough  to  become  fairly  light. 
Sponge  requires  about  four  hours  ;  dough  requires  about  two  hours.  Make  up  into 
loaves  and  put  into  pans,  giving  them  about  thirty  minutes,  more  or  less,  as  you  see 
they  require,  before  putting  them  into  the  oven. 

'*  I  think  that  if  this  method  is  followed  and  close  attention  given  to  it  for  a 
few  times,  it  will  be  adopted  hereafter.  Of  course,  I  assume  that  the  yeast  used 
shall  be  fresh.*' 

INSTRUCTIONS   OF   A    GENERAL   KIND. 

Dinner. — Place  the  sheet  of  iron  that  has  no  holes  in  it  on  the  bottom  of  the 
oven  so  as  to  keep  the  dishes  from  absolutely  touching  the  hot  bottom  itself ; 
remove  the  next  shelf,  leaving  the  middle  and  upper  shelves  in  their  places.  The 
dinner  is  to  consist  of  four  courses  :  First,  soup  ;  second,  fish  ;  third,  roast ; 
fourth,  pudding.  White  or  yellow  ware  dishes,  common  stoneware,  or  crockery 
vegetable  dishes  may  be  used.     Two  dishes  or  pans  may  be  put  on  the  lower  shelf 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION.  49 

of  the  oven ;  two  or  three  on  the  middle  shelf ;  two  or  four  on  the  upper  shelf. 
Get  dishes  which  fit  well  under  these  conditions. 

The  following  dinner  will  call  for  a  yellow  or  white  ware  dish,  about  two  to 
two  and  one-half  inches  deep,  for  the  meat ;  an  oblong  one  with  round  corners  is 
best.  A  tin  pan  can  be  used  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  keep  clean.  The  soup  may 
be  re-heated  in  a  vegetable  dish  not  too  high  to  be  set  in  upon  the  middle  or  upper 
shelf.  Better  heat  it  over  another  lamp  on  an  iron  table.  A  shallow  dish  will  be 
required  for  the  fish — one-half  to  two  inches  deep  ;  two  vegetable  dishes  for  beans 
and  pease,  or  for  squash,  tomatoes  or  onions,  either  two  of  which  may  be  chosen. 
Lastly  a  pudding  dish. 

All  the  articles  having  been  properly  prepared,  place  either  a  sirloin  of  beef 
weighing  six  or  seven  pounds,  a  leg  of  mutton  or  lamb  weighing  six  or  seven  pounds, 
or  a  pair  of  chickens  of  good  size,  in  the  meat  pan.  If  chickens  are  chosen,  stuff 
with  soaked  bread  crumbs,  seasoned  with  sweet  marjoram,  pepper  and  salt ;  baste 
the  chickens  with  a  little  softened  butter,  and  sprinkle  with  bread  crumbs.  If  veal 
is  selected,  be  sure  to  cook  it  long  enough  ;  give  a  little  more  time  to  white  meat 
than  to  brown.  Put  three  or  four  pounds  of  fish  in  the  shallower  dish,  score  it 
crossway,  lay  a  few  strips  of  pork  on  the  scores,  or  else  omit  the  pork  and  use  a  little 
soft  butter  and  sprinkle  with  bread  crumbs. 

Put  the  soup  made  the  day  before,  according  to  directions  given  elsewhere,  into 
the  soup  dish,  and  season  it  to  taste.  A  little  catsup  or  celery  seed  in  addition  to 
the  pepper  and  salt  already  in  it,  may  suffice. 

Place  the  potatoes  ready  to  be  baked  in  the  tin  pan.  Put  the  string  beans  in 
one  dish,  pease  in  another,  with  a  little  water,  just  sufficient  to  cover  them  ;  add  a 
little  salt.  If  squash  is  selected,  put  it  in  a  dish  without  any  water.  If  tomatoes 
are  selected,  scald  them  and  remove  the  outer  skin  ;  put  them  in  a  dish,  add  butter, 
salt  and  pepper,  and  sprinkle  with  cracker  crumbs.  If  onions  are  chosen,  put  them 
in  a  dish  with  a  little  milk,  salt  and  pepper.     Be  sure  to  give  onions  a  long  time. 

Pudding. — Break  up  some  stale  bread  into  a  soft  mush  with  milk  ;  add  a  little 
salt ;  grate  in  one-half  a  nutmeg,  perhaps  a  little  lemon  juice,  three  or  four  great 
spoonfuls  of  sugar,  one  teacupful  of  seedless  raisins  or  dried  currants — raisins  are 
the  best ;  a  little  orange  marmalade  may  be  added.  If  you  choose,  omit  the  sugar 
and  make  a  cold  sauce  of  sugar,  butter  and  a  little  spice  mashed  together.  Do  not 
be  afraid  of  cooking  the  onions  alongside  the  pudding.  Old  onions  should  be  put  in 
at  the  time  the  meat  is  put  in.  Young  and  tender  onions  require  one  and  a 
quarter  hours. 

Suppose  the  dinner  is  to  be  served  at  2.30  p.  m.  Put  the  meat  or  poultry  in  on 
the  lower  shelf  at  13.30,  so  that  it  may  cook  two  hours.     Potatoes  at  same  time  if 


50  THE  SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 

large  ;  if  very  large,  even  earlier.  All  the  rest  may  go  in  at  1.15  p.  m. ;  then  each 
dish  will  be  taken  out  at  about  the  right  time. 

Put  the  fish  on  the  middle  shelf,  the  tomatoes  on  the  upper  shelf,  and  cook 
them  an  hour  to  an  hour  and  a  quarter.  The  fish  will  be  served  first.  Put  the  po- 
tatoes, if  small,  on  the  lower  shelf,  at  1.15  p.  m.,  or  much  earlier  if  they  are  of 
large  size  ;  beans,  pease,  or  squash  on  the  middle  or  upper  shelf  at  1.15  p.  m. ;  the 
pudding  on  the  upper  shelf  at  1.15  p.  m. ;  the  soup  anywhere  to  be  reheated. 
Better  heat  it  outside  over  another  lamp.  If  heated  in  the  oven  it  may  be  put  in 
when  the  other  articles  are  put  in,  or  later.  A  little  time  will  be  taken  up  in  placing 
the  dishes,  and  they  will  come  out  in  about  the  right  order,  the  pudding  being  left 
in  the  oven  while  the  rest  of  the  dinner  is  being  served. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  meat  and  potatoes  take  longer  than  the  rest  of  the 
dinner,  therefore  they  may  be  prepared  first  and  put  in  as  above.  After  the  meat  is 
in  the  oven,  the  rest  of  the  dishes  can  be  prepared  and  put  in  according  to  the  above 
rules.  When  everything  is  in  the  oven,  shut  it  up,  see  that  your  lamp  is  burning 
brightly  and  not  smoking ;  set  the  dinner  table,  take  off  your  apron  and  get  ready 
to  enjoy  your  dinner.  If  you  do  not  want  to  be  bothered,  place  the  oven  in  the 
dining-room,  serve  from  the  oven  to  the  table,  and  change  the  plates  as  may  be  re- 
quired, placing  the  dishes  and  plates  on  a  side-table  behind  a  screen  until  they  can 
be  removed  to  the  kitchen  to  be  washed.  Keep  a  very  little  fire  in  the  kitchen 
stove  to  warm  water  if  you  do  not  use  a  kerosene  stove  of  the  common  type  for  that 
purpose.  In  washing  dishes  use  warm  (not  hot)  water  and  a  teaspoonful  of  kerosene 
oil  to  one  pan  of  water. 

If  you  want  to  make  fine  sauces  learn  how  to  make  them  from  the  books,  in  a 
blazer  or  chafing-dish,  on  the  table.  If  you  do  not  care  to  light  the  stove  in  summer, 
buy  a  common  kerosene  stove-lamp,  and  an  iron  table  with  a  hole  in  it,  upon  which 
you  may  heat  water,  boil  potatoes,  and  do  other  work  of  that  kind. 

This  is  the  first  lesson  in  plain  cooking,  and  is  in  fact  the  only  one  required. 
In  subsequent  practice  read  some  of  the  recipes  in  cookery  books  and  reject  nearly 
all  the  very  complex  ones ;  then  apply  common  sense  to  those  that  you  choose  to 
try.  It  is  not  consistent  with  good  cooking  to  disguise  the  fine  natural  flavors  of 
meat,  fish  and  fruit,  with  strong  spices  or  other  condiments ;  very  strong  flavors 
may  be  useful  in  order  to  disguise  the  poor  quality  of  the  food  itself. 

One  of  the  great  merits  of  this  process  of  cooking  slowly  by  moderate  heat 
which  does  not  distill  the  juice  or  dissociate  the  fats  is,  that  the  food  when  reheated 
or  served  the  second  time  has  no  unpleasant  flavor  or  greasy  tang  to  it.  In  fact 
some  kinds  of  food,  such  as  veal  or  other  white  meats,  seem  to  develop  more  flavor 
in  the  second  process  than  in  the  first.     It  is  a  useful  practice  to  cook  such  material 


THE  SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION".  51 

for  a  second  time  in  a  blazer  or  chafing-dish,  at  the  same  time  adding  moderate 
quantities  of  Nepaul  pepper,  cayenne  pepper,  black  pepper,  tobasco  or  some  other 
kind  of  sauce,  curry  powder,  caramel,  onion  juice,  bay  leaves,  sherry  wine,  etc.,  in 
order  to  comprehend  the  art  of  giving  variety  to  the  customary  fare. 

Very  Sloiv  Cooking. — Place  oatmeal  or  cornmeal.in  porcelain  jars,  with  sufficient 
salt,  and  somewhat  less  milk  or  water  than  would  be  commonly  used. 

Place  meat  scraps,  bones,  carcasses  of  chicken  or  turkey,  corned  beef,  or  smoked 
ham  in  earthen  pots  of  sufficient  size,  with  a  very  moderate  amount  of  water  ac- 
cording to  what  is  wanted — whether  stewed  meat  or  soup.  Salt  and  season  accord- 
ing to  taste  ;  place  in  the  oven  at  nine  or  ten  o'clock  p.  m.  Make  use  of  a  common 
lamp  with  a  flat  wick  one  and  a  quarter  to  two  inches,  or  a  low  gas  flame.  In  the 
morning  the  food  will  be  found  thoroughly  cooked  and  the  evaporation  will  have 
been  very  small.  I  have  prepared  twenty-four  pounds  of  fresh  meat,  flsh,  oatmeal 
and  cornmeal,  with  water  and  milk,  in  this  way,  and  have  found  twenty-three  and 
one-fourth  pounds  in  the  vessels  the  next  morning.  Ham,  cooked  in  this  way, 
should  be  afterward  baked  with  a  basting  of  bread  crumbs,  or  may  be  cooked  wholly 
by  baking. 

The  method  adopted  in  the  New  England  Kitchen  for  making  beef  broth,  for 
the  sick  or  for  the  well,  is  as  follows  :  (Samples  may  be  found  at  142  Pleasant 
street,  where  many  useful  ideas  may  be  gathered. )  A  large  tin  vessel  has  been  pre- 
pared which  fills  the  inside  of  the  oven.  Into  this  twenty  pounds  of  coarse  beef 
bones  broken  up  and  twenty  pounds  of  neck  or  shin  cut  in  moderate-sized  pieces 
are  placed ;  to  this  material  is  added  fifteen  quarts  of  water,  sufficient  to  cover  well. 
This  is  placed  in  the  oven  at  four  o'clock  p.  m.,  and  the  lamp  is  then  lighted.  At 
seven  o'clock  p.  m. ,  the  lamp  is  refilled,  lighted,  and  left  to  burn  itself  out  during 
the  night,  or  in  about  eight  hours.  At  six  a.  m.,  the  broth  will  be  found  still 
nearly  at  the  boiling  point,  about  204°  F.  The  soup  is  then  strained  and  cooled, 
and  is  ready  to  be  put  into  jars  for  sale  or  seasoned  for  use.  This  broth  is  a  nutritious 
and  easily-digested  food,  differing  from  the  ordinary  beef  tea  which  is  mainly  a  stimu- 
lant rather  than  a  food.  The  meat  in  very  tender  condition  still  contains  much 
nourishment ;  it  is  chopped  and  seasoned  so  as  to  be  eaten  after  or  with  the  soup. 

Each  oven  should  be  heated  for  about  an  hour  before  it  is  used,  and  each  one 
may  require  a  little  experience  in  order  to  determine  the  time  to  which  the  various 
kinds  of  food  must  be  subjected  in  it. 

I  have  been  asked  how  this  apparatus  might  be  applied  in  the  best  way  to  cook- 
ing or  baking  on  a  large  scale.  In  my  own  judgment  a  Standard  oven  of  the  size 
described  in  this  pamphlet,  which  can  be  worked  with  one  lamp  of  the  Rochester 
type  and  of  the  size  in  common  use,  may  be  adopted  as  the  unit. 


ADDENDA,    FOURTH    EDITION. 


Since  the  first  edition  of  this  work  was  printed  some  slight  improvements  have  been 
made  in  the  construction  of  the  Aladdin  Oven,  making  it  more  convenient  and  certain  in 
its  use.  Many  more  experiments  have  been  conducted  in  order  to  determine  whether  or 
not  it  would  be  safe  under  certain  conditions  to  make  use  of  wood,  which  is  the  cheapest  and 
best  non-heat  conductor  available  for  the  construction  of  substitutes  for  the  somewhat  ex- 
pensive Aladdin  Oven.  Success  has  been  inllj  attained  in  these  efforts.  The  following 
diagrams  and  description  will  give  the  latest  type  of  this  cooking  apparatus.  These  plans 
are  submitted,  subject  to  the  caution  that  while  such  ovens  are  not  likely  to  carbonize  even 
in  a  long  period  under  judicious  control  and  can  hardly  be  ignited  even  by  gross  careless- 
ness, yet  being  made  of  wood  they  should  be  used  only  under  such  conditions  as  to  be  free 
from  danger  even  if  the  wood  should  carbonize  slowly  or  ignite. 

All  patents  taken  out  in  my  name  on  the  apparatus  have  been  and  are  now  again 
dedicated  to  public  use  free  of  royalty. 

I  retain  the  names  "  Aladdin  Oven  "  and  "  Atkinson  Cooker  "  as  trade-marks  limited 
to  my  own  exclusive  use  and  control.  This  is  for  convenience  and  safety  in  the  sale  of 
the  apparatus  when  ordered  from  myself  or  my  assigns. 

(A)  A  box  made  of  pine  or  of  whitewood,  or  any  other  wood  of  close  texture  least 
liable  to  warp  or  shrink.  This  box  may  be  made  of  board  or  plank  either  one  or  two 
inches  thick.  The  thicker  the  less  radiation  or  loss  of  heat  there  will  be.  It  should  be 
lined  with  tin  and  the  tin  should  be  carried  around  the  bottom  edges  and  turned  up  outside, 
so  that  the  wooden  surfaces  of  the  edges  may  not  come  in  direct  contact  with  the  metallic 
top  of  the  table  on  which  the  oven  is  to  be  placed.  If  the  outside  of  this  box  is  also 
covered  with  tin  or  sheet  metal  of  any  kind,  it  will  become  absolutely  safe  to  make  use  of 
it  night  or  day,  without  any  other  precautions  than  due  care  of  the  lamp  by  which  it  is 
heated.  But  the  outer  covering  of  metal  will  make  the  box  more  expensive  and  is  not  re- 
quired, for  day  service  under  supervision. 

(B)  A  metallic  table,  or  a  table  with  a  metal  top,  on  which  the  box  is  to  be  i^laced 
and  to  which  it  may  be  hinged.     Hole  in  the  middle  two  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter. 

(C)  Hinge. 

(D)  A  double  tube  open  at  the  bottom  over  the  lamp  chimney  and  over  the  hole  in 
the  metallic  table ;  both  tubes  may  be  open  at  the  sides  by  openings  to  match  each  other, 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION.  53 

say  half  an  inch  in  width  by  two  inches  in  length  on  each  quarter.  The  upper  tube  sup- 
porting a  plate  may  be  turned  on  the  lower  tube  so  as  to  open  the  way  for  direct  heat  to 
pass  into  the  box  through  the  openings  for  very  quick  work,  or  the  upper  tube  may  be 
turned  upon  the  lower  one  so  as  to  close  these  openings  which  are  marked  "  E."  For  the 
ordinary  processes  of  cooking  they  should  be  closed. 

A  handle  is  shown  by  which  this  box  may  be  turned  backward  or  end  up.  A  con- 
venient size  would  be  to  make  the  space  indicated  by  the  four  letters  "  a,  a,  a,  a,"  fourteen 
inches  each  way.  In  addition  to  that  space  will  be  the  space  within  the  box  under  the 
slant  at  the  front.  The  object  in  adding  this  part  under  the  slant  is  that  the  box  may 
clear  any  cooking  vessel  which  is  placed  on  the  tube  over  the  lamp  when  it  is  turned  upon 
end.  Otherwise  it  is  necessary  to  lift  the  box,  which  is  an  inconvenient  method.  In  this 
space  under  the  slant,  vessels  may  be  placed  for  cooking  the  materials  which  require  a 
lesser  degree  of  heat.  The  hottest  place  will  be  immediately  over  the  lamp  on  the  upper 
tube.  The  next  hottest  place  will  be  around  the  tube  "  D."  The  lesser  degree  of  heat 
will  be  in  front  under  the  slant.  I  prefer  earthern  jars  and  dishes  to  metal,  except  for 
roasting  pans,  broiling  or  sauteing. 

A  second  diagram  of  the  oven  is  given  in  perspective  upon  a  table  wide  enough  on 
every  side  to  hold  the  fragments  of  the  wooden  box,  in  the  remote  contingency  that  through 
carelessness  it  should  be  ignited  by  an  excess  of  heat.  The  ordinary  heat  required  for 
cooking  appears  to  have  no  effect  in  scorching  the  wood.  The  heat  may  shrink  even  the 
best-seasoned  wood,  so  that  after  a  few  weeks'  use  it  will  become  expedient  to  drive  a  strip 
into  the  cracks  which  may  have  opened  at  the  joints.  The  oven  might  also  possibly  be 
scorched  and  even  ignited  if  the  lamp  were  placed  under  the  hole  in  the  table  without  the 
tube  or  any  other  obstruction  between  it  and  the  top  of  the  box. 

For  the  reason  that  this  cooking  apparatus  is  made  of  wood,  which  may  in  a  very 
long  period  be  carbonized  or  may  possibly  be  ignited  by  careless  use,  I  do  not  recommend 
it  for  night  work  unless  it  is  placed  upon  a  table  on  which  the  fragments  may  burn  with- 
out risk  ;  or  unless  the  table  is  placed  upon  a  brick  or  concrete  floor  where  fragments  of 
the  cooking-box  might  burn  without  hazard.  There  is  no  other  non-heat-conducting  ma- 
terial so  effective  and  so  cheap  as  the  compact  kinds  of  wood,  like  whitewood  or  pine,  and 
with  common  prudence  they  may  be  safely  used. 

Anybody  can  cook  with  this  apparatus.  Nobody  can  cook  properly  on  an  iron  stove 
or  range  without  wasting  heat,  time,  temper  and  even  skill ;  it  takes  long  practice  to  over- 
come the  faults  of  the  iron  stove  and  of  the  fuel  used  in  it,  and  then  the  results  are  often 
bad.  The  chief  fault  in  cooking  is  cooking  quickly  at  a  high  and  varying  temperature. 
One  of  the  principal  causes  of  indigestion  is  the  chemical  change  which  is  wrought 
by  a  high  heat  upon  the  fats  of  meat.  Dr.  Pavey,  one  of  the  earliest  investigators, 
uses  the  following  language  in  his  "  Treatise  on  Food  and  Dietetics  "  :  "  Fat  under  a  pro- 


THE  LATEST  TYPE  OF  THE  ATKINSON  COOKER. 


SECTION. 


NOT   PATENTED. 


THE  LATEST  TYPE  OF  THE  ATKINSON  COOKER. 


IN   PERSPECTIVE. 


NOT   PATENTED. 


56  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

longed  exposure  to  a  strong  heat  undergoes  decomposition  attended  with  a  production  of 
fatty  acids  and  an  acrid  volatile  product  known  as  acroline,  which  may  cause  derangement 
of  a  weak  stomach." 

This  evil  can  be  avoided  by  my  methods  of  cooking.  I  have  on  record  many  instances 
of  the  cure  of  dyspepsia  and  indigestion  by  the  substitution  of  food  cooked  slowly  at  a 
moderate  heat  by  the  methods  which  I  have  promoted,  proving  conclusively  what  Dr. 
Pavey  says.  I  have  also  two  records  of  very  puny  children  who  needed  meat  and  would 
not  eat  it  when  cooked  in  a  cooking  stove.  Since  my  oven  was  adopted  they  have  become 
stout  and  strong.  I  have  become  satisfied  that  about  half  the  prevalent  dyspepsia  is  due 
to  semi-starvation  because  the  victims  cannot  digest  badly-cooked  food.  I  am  well  satis- 
fied that  if  any  shrewd  saloon-keeper  who  wants  to  make  more  money  will  make 
strong  beef  soup  from  the  heads,  palates  and  well-cleaned  hoofs  of  beef  cattle,  or 
lentil  broth  from  lentils,  it  will  cost  him  less  than  his  whiskey  and  beer  now  cost ;  and  if 
put  on  tap  alongside  either,  each  will  sell  freely  in  place  of  the  liquor  or  in  addition, 
because  more  than  half  the  craving  for  stimulants  is  due  to  want  of  well-cooked  food. 
Who  will  try  this  ?  The  "  saloon  "  will  have  a  better  reputation  if  this  suggestion  should 
prove  to  be  profitable  in  practice. 

I  have  lately  made  these  ovens  of  glass  for  purposes  of  observation.  The  dimensions 
are,  plan,  14  inches  by  10  inches,  section,  10  inches  by  10  inches.  One  is  of  eighth-inch 
single  glass,  one  of  quarter-inch  plate-glass.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  much  diiference  be- 
tween them.  The  glass  is  set  in  channels  in  a  tin  frame,  packed  in  asbestos-paper,  to  keeji 
the  joints  tight  and  the  glass  free  to  exjjand  and  contract.  The  heat  can  be  raised  to 
over  300°  F.  with  a  duplex  Trench  burner,  1^-inch  wicks.  The  third  oven  is  of  eighth- 
inch  glass,  double  glazed,  with  half-inch  air-space.  In  this  oven  I  have  raised  the  heat 
400°  F. 

The  ovens  rest  upon  metallic  tables,  with  two  and-a-half-inch  hole  in  centre,  the  top 
of  the  lamp-chimney  being  placed  very  close  to  the  level  of  the  metal.  With  care  there  is 
little  danger  of  cracking  the  glass.  I  have  cracked  one  top  plate  by  attempting  to  burn 
loose  cotton  in  the  oven,  in  which,  after  it  has  been  heated  some  time,  there  is  not  enough 
oxygen  to  maintain  combustion.  I  cracked  the  glass  by  want  of  care  in  supplying  more 
air.  I  think  such  ovens  may  be  very  useful  in  scientific  work  on  the  effect  of  heat  upon 
different  kinds  of  food. 

January,  1895. 


GLASS    OVENS. 


This  page  has  been  left  until  the  date  of  going  to  press  in  order  to  add  the  latest  facts. 
The  use  of  glass  ovens  simply  confirmed  all  my  previous  observations.  Their  use  also  en- 
abled me  to  lay  out  the  work  for  the  establishment  of  a  science  of  glazing  factory  and 
workshop  windows,  which  perhaps  may  be  extended  to  the  glazing  of  school-houses,  hospi- 
tals and  art-galleries.  Having  induced  the  adoption  of  ribbed  glass  of  twenty-one  ribs  to 
the  inch  in  sevei'al  textile  factories,  by  which  the  light  is  diffused  without  heavy  shadows, 
it  soon  appeared  that  there  was  a  great  difference  in  the  transmission  of  heat.  It  has 
therefore  become  necessary  for  me  to  enter  upon  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  properties 
of  glass  in  respect  to  the  diffusion  of  light  and  the  transmission  of  heat,  in  order  to  deter- 
mine the  form  of  the  ribs  or  corrugations,  the  shade  or  color,  and  all  other  facts  in  the 
case. 

In  the  matter  of  ovens,  I  have  given  up  the  cylinder  and  pail  ovens  in  the  expectation 
that,  as  soon  as  the  manufacture  of  Standard  Aladdin  Ovens  has  been  established  on  a 
commercial  basis  by  the  Asbestos  Paper  Co.,  we  may  use  their  very  light  material  for 
making  small  portable  ovens  in  square  forms,  which  will  serve  a  better  purpose  than  cylin- 
drical forms,  even  for  workmen  to  carry  to  their  work. 

It  is  still  necessary  to  heat  water  for  circulation  throughout  a  house  from  the  water- 
back  of  the  stove  or  range,  or  by  a  heater  connected  with  the  customary  copper  boiler.  I 
have  jacketed  this  copper  boiler  in  my  own  kitchen  with  the  asbestos  air-cells  lagging  sup- 
plied by  the  Asbestos  Paper  Co.,  Boston.  This  has  reduced  the  amount  of  fuel,  greatly 
increased  the  efficiency  of  the  boiler  and  wholly  prevented  the  radiation  of  heat,  to  the 
comfort  of  the  inmates  in  summer  weather. 

June,  1895. 


THE    ALADDIN    OVEN. 

HOW   IT   DOES   IT. 

Since  my  first  general  instructions  were  given,  I  have  been  asked  many  times 
"  When  my  cookery  book  would  be  published  ?" 

Even  now  I  can  only  give  the  results  of  observation  and  of  partial  study  with 
the  recipes  which  have  been  prepared  at  my  own  suggestion,  coupled  with  others 
that  have  been  sent  me. 

Since  the  first  edition  of  these  instructions  was  issued,  much  experience  has 
been  gained  and  the  work  which  can  be  done  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  has  been  very 
much  extended.  I  have  made  arrangements  to  heat  the  kitchen  in  my  winter  house 
mainly  from  the  furnace.  Since  it  is  no  longer  necessary  to  get  up  a  fire  in  the 
early  morning,  my  cook  finds  that  the  breakfast  can  be  prepared  more  quickly  and 
with  less  work  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  than  upon  the  range.  Even  if  the  range  or 
stove  must  be  lighted  for  other  purposes,  the  Aladdin  Oven  is  ready  for  the  work 
before  the  oven  in  the  range  is  in  suitable  condition  for  cooking.  Moreover,  since 
it  is  no  longer  necessary  to  force  the  range,  a  great  waste  of  fuel  is  saved,  espe- 
cially if  a  little  coke  is  used  either  by  itself  or  in  starting  the  hard  coal  fire. 

I  can  hardly  doubt,  however,  on  the  basis  of  my  own  experience  and  that  of 
many  others,  that  the  use  of  the  iron  stove  or  range  will  almost  wholly  give  place 
to  the  oven.  There  is  no  question  that  the  fine  flavors  of  meat,  fruit,  grain  and 
vegetables  are  developed  by  the  application  of  heat  at  the  right  temperature.  These 
flavors  are  very  subtle  and  very  volatile  and  are  doubtless  due  to  chemical  changes. 
A  high  heat  dissipates  these  fine  flavors  about  as  fast  as  they  are  formed,  especially 
when  the  cooking  is  done  in  open  vessels,  while  a  moderate  heat  which  only  evap- 
orates some  of  the  water  in  the  material,  develops  the  flavor  without  sending  it  off 
in  vapor,  especially  when  the  work  is  done  in  closed  vessels.  A  high  heat  converts 
fat  into  a  fatty  acid  which  is  noxious — a  low  heat  prepares  the  fat  for  ready  assimi- 
lation in  the  process  of  nutrition  in  due  proportion. 

True  food  is  not  prepared  by  merely  making  a  cook*s  mixture  commonly 
called  a  recipe — it  is  a  fine  process  of  the  chemical  conversion  of  crude  food  material 
under  the  controlled  and  regulated  application  of  heat. 

In  preparation  for  breakfast,  prepare 

Coffee,  Southern  Method. — Grind  the  roasted  coffee  very  fine  ;  put  it  into  a  pitcher  at 
night,  pour  cold  water  upon  it  equal  to  the  quantity  of  coffee  expected  to  be  made  ;  let  it 


THE   SCIENCE   OF    NUTRITION.  59 

steep  all  night.  In  the  morning  strain  it,  and,  if  desired,  clear  it  with  the  white  of  an  egg ; 
then  heat  to  the  desirable  point  for  serving.  It  can  be  heated  in  the  oven,  or  over  another 
lamp,  or  on  the  stove. 

Having  lighted  the  lamp  at  once  on  coming  down  in  the  morning,  so  as  to  heat 
the  bottom  of  the  oven  while  the  food  is  being  prepared,  a  process  corresponding 
to  the  work  of  frying  in  a  spider  by  the  use  of  a  little  fat  or  butter,  without  the 
complete  immersion  of  the  food  in  the  hot  fat,  may  be  applied  to  a  great  many 
kinds  of  food.     The  method  is  as  follows,  scientifically  called 

Sauteing. — Place  a  tin  or  metal  dish  immediately  upon  the  actual  bottom  of  the  oven, 
directly  over  the  lamp.  Put  a  little  butter  or  lard  into  it.  Having  some  cold  mush  made  of 
cornmeal  or  of  oatmeal  already  very  thoroughly  cooked,  cut  in  thin  slices,  put  them  into 
the  pan,  leave  until  brown  on  one  side,  then  turn  and  brown  on  the  other  side ;  serve  very 
hot.  Pan  fish  may  be  cooked  in  the  same  way.  Try  almost  anything  in  this  way.  Crisp 
soda  biscuit  may  be  salted  and  cooked  in  butter  in  this  way;  they  make  a  delicious  side  dish. 

Gems. — Mix  Graham,  rye,  or  whole  wheat  flour  with  water  and  salt  into  a  thick  batter, 
using  neither  yeast  nor  baking  powder.  Having  placed  a  metal  biscuit  pan  in  the  oven  so 
that  it  is  already  well  heated,  put  in  a  little  butter,  merely  enough  to  keep  the  gems  from 
adhering  to  the  metal ;  bake  quickly  on  the  bottom  of  the  oven. 

The  term  ''whole  "  or  ''entire  wheat "  has  been  misapplied  to  the  flour  which 
is  called  by  that  name.  This  flour  is  made  from  grains  of  wheat  from  which  the 
outer  cuticle  has  been  removed.  Graham  flour  is  made  from  the  whole  grain, 
including  the  outer  covering.  Preference  is  given  by  many  persons  to  the  Graham 
flour.  Care  should  be  taken  to  secure  a  special  brand  of  Graham  flour  made  from 
sound  wheat,  as  the  common  grades  bear  the  ill  repute  of  being  a  compound  of  the 
rubbish  of  the  flour  mill  with  the  poor  wheat.  These  common  grades  may,  there- 
fore, contain  more  bran  than  anything  else. 

(See  Appendix — Letter  from  Mr.  Louis  H.  Hyde. ) 

I  will  first  give  a  few  of  our  own  recipes,  mainly  for  dishes  suitable  for 
breakfast. 

BROILED  OmCKENS  OR  BIRDS. 

Place  in  a  tin  pan  slices  of  cold  toasted  bread,  place  upon  them  a  little  butter,  put  over 
the  toast  a  drainer,  that  is,  a  wire  frame  or  a  tin  plate  pierced  like  a  colander,  half  to  three 
quarters  of  an  inch  high.  Upon  this  drainer  place  the  chicken  quartered  or  the  birds  split 
for  broiling.  Very  thin  slices  of  pork  may  be  laid  over  them,  or  else  smear  with  a  little  soft 
butter  and  sprinkle  with  bread  crumbs. 

BEEP  STEAK  AND  MUTTON  CHOPS. 

Place  the  drainer,  the  one  made  of  wire  being  the  best,  in  a  tin  pan.  Put  a  little  butter 
into  the  pan,  place  the  meat  upon  the  frame,  thick  slices  preferred  ;  cook  according  to  the 
thickness  of  the  meat. 


60  THE  SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION. 

SAUSAGES. 

Proceed  in  the  same  way,  omitting  the  butter.  Put  the  lard  oil  which  is  drained  out  of 
the  sausages  into  the  grease  pot,  tTien  eat  the  sausages. 

FISH. 

Proceed  in  the  same  manner,  adding  pepper  and  sftlt  according  to  taste.  Put  a  little 
butter  upon  the  fish  and  sprinkle  with  bread  crumbs,  or  cut  the  fish  cross-way  and  lay  in  thin 
strips  of  salt  pork,  then  sprinkle  with  bread  crumbs. 

HAM  OR  BACON  AND  EGGS. 

Cover  the  wire  or  tin  drainer  all  over  with  thin  slices  of  ham  or  bacon,  place  in  the  oven 
and  cook  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes,  the  oven  having  been  already  heated.  Then  break  the 
eggs  upon  the  meat,  return  to  the  oven  and  cook  five  to  ten  minutes  according  to  taste. 

When  very  quick  work  is  necessary,  all  the  dishes  above  named  may  be  put 
directly  upon  the  bottom  of  the  oven  over  the  lamp.  They  must  however  be 
watched,  as  it  is  possible  to  scorch  food  which  is  cooked  under  these  conditions 
without  the  intervening  shelf  that  keeps  the  bottom  of  the  pans  from  the  direct 
contact  with  the  bottom  of  the  oven. 

When  very  quick  work  is  not  required,  leave  the  close  iron  shelf  which  has  no 
holes  in  it  upon  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  and  place  all  the  dishes  upon  that,  except 
the  imitation  fry.  Saute'ing  and  grilling  must  be  done  on  the  actual  bottom  of  the 
oven.  Slow  work  is  the  safest.  The  longer  meats  are  subjected  to  a  moderate  heat 
without  burning  or  drying  up  the  juices,  the  more  tender  and  digestible  they  will 
become. 

BISCUITS. 

Biscuits  made  of  any  kind  of  meal  may  be  baked  in  biscuit  pans  upon  the  shelf  next  above 
the  bottom  of  the  oven.  They  may  be  baked  while  meats  and  fish  are  being  cooked  below. 
Heat  the  biscuit  pans  first. 

GRIDDLE  CAKES. 

Take  out  the  close  iron  shelf,  place  the  griddle  in  the  oven  on  the  bottom  as  soon  as  the 
lamp  is  lighted,  so  as  to  heat  it  with  the  oven  ;  put  the  lamp,  well  trimmed  at  full  power  and 
proceed  in  the  usual  manner  to  cook  griddle  cakes,  pan-cakes  or  flap-jacks. 

MUSH  OR  PORRIDGE. 

Made  of  corntneal,  oatmeal,  cracked  wheat  or  hominy;  place  either  in  porcelain  vessels  ; 
add  sale,  moisten  saflSciently,  but  not  quite  as  much  as  if  the  work  were  to  be  done  on  the 
top  of  the  stove  where  the  water  would  greatly  evaporate;  cover  the  pot  and  put  it  into  the 
oven  for  many  hours  ;  all  night  if  you  please. 

This  slow  cooking  at  moderate  heat  will  not  injure  but  will  develop  the  fine 
flavor  of  the  grain.  This  mush  or  porridge  may  be  eaten  in  the  usual  way  or 
may  be  allowed  to  become  cold;  then  cut  in  thin  slices  and  cook  in  the  pan  in 
imitation  of  frying,  according  to  the  instructions  previously  given. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITIOK.  61 

ROASTED   WHEAT   CAKES. 

If  grains  of  wheat  are  roasted  as  coffee  berries  are  roasted,  they  can  be  ground  in 
a  French  coffee  mill  which  should  not  be  used  for  any  other  purpose.  This  brown  flour  can 
then  be  made  into  biscuits  or  into  griddle  cakes  that  possess  a  peculiar  flavor  which  many 
people  like.  It  must  be  very  digestible.  Coffee  berries  or  wheat  grains  may  be  roasted  in 
the  Aladdin  Oven.     It  takes  a  long  time,  but  requires  very  little  attention. 

It  therefore  appears  that  almost  all  the  customary  breakfast  dishes,  except  those 
which  require  frying  by  immersion  in  hot  fat,  can  be  prepared  in  the  Aladdin  Oven. 
The  ovens  stop  short  at  the  doughnut  stage.     . 

PAN-CAKES. 

One  pint  of  milk,  four  eggs,  a  little  salt,  two  heaping  tablespoonf uls  of  flour.  Beat  the 
eggs  and  stir  the  milk  and  flour  together.  Heat  the  pan  on  the  bottom  of  the  oven  ten 
minutes ;  then  butter  the  pan,  pour  the  pan-cakes  in,  cook  for  twenty  minutes,  turning  once 
midway. 

OMELET. 

Heat  a  tin  pan  upon  the  actual  bottom  of  the  oven,  put  a  small  piece  of  butter  therein ; 
beat  up  the  eggs  and  stir  into  the  pan,  place  it  upon  the  bottom  of  the  oven  for  about  four 
minutes,  closing  the  door  ;  then  turn  over  and  serve  at  once. 

The  next  directions  apply  to  the  preparation  of  the  more  substantial  dishes. 

ROASTING. 

Give  more  time  than  in  the  common  oven  and  do  not  be  tempted  to  try  to  roast  quickly. 

BROWNING    MEAT  AND  POULTRY. 

Some  complaints  have  been  made  and  exceptions  have  been  taken  for  the  lack  of  an 
aesthetic  appearance  in  the  roasts.  Bread  crumbs  and  butter  are  turned  brown  by  heat  at  a 
much  lower  degree  than  the  fats  of  the  meat  itself.  Therefore  smear  the  joint  or  sirloin 
with  soft  sweet  butter  ;  sprinkle  with  bread  crumbs  when  the  dish  is  put  into  the  oven.  This 
will  give  an  sesthetic  appearance  that  will  be  wholly  satisfactory. 

BROWNING  HALIBUT  AND  CUSK  A  LA  CREME. 

Having  prepared  the  fish  in  the  usual  way,  well  seasoned,  with  sauce,  wholly  omitting 
the  customary  boiling  by  which  the  fine  flavor  of  the  fish  is  commonly  destroyed,  cook  the 
fish  a  sufficient  time  according  to  the  quantity ;  about  half  an  hour  before  serving  beat  the 
white  of  an  egg  into  a  froth  and  spread  it  over  the  fish.  The  result  will  please  the  critical 
eye  and  it  will  not  hurt  the  fish. 

TOASTING  BREAD. 

Take  out  the  lower  shelf,  place  a  wire  grid  directly  upon  the  bottom  of  the  oven  ;  then 
lay  the  slices  of  bread  thereon. 

BAKED    BEANS,    BROWN"   BREAD,    INDIAN    PUDDING. 

Many  of  the  younger  generation  never  really  tasted  either  of  these  pre-historic 
dishes.     The  following  recipes  are  therefore  given: 


62  THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 

BAKED   BEANS. 

Soak  one  quart  of  beans  in  water  all  night ;  turn  off  that  water  if  you  don't  want  too 
much  of  the  bean  flavor  and  add  fresh  water.  If  you  are  a  true  bean  eater,  do  not  turn  off 
the  water,  but  put  the  pot  in  a  heated  oven  and  leave  it  there  one  hour ;  then  draw  off  the 
loose  water'  Place  half  a  pound  of  salt  pork  on  the  top  ;  add  a  teaspoonf  ul  of  salt ;  put 
back  into  the  oven  and  cook  the  beans  all  day  and  all  night  if  you  want  to.  Add  a  little 
molasses  if  you  want  a  little  sweetening.     Beans  can  hardly  be  overcooked. 

BROWN  BREAD. 

Two  cups  of  Indian,  that  is,  maize  meal ;  two  cups  of  rye  meal ;  one  and  one-half  tea- 
spoonful  of  baking  powder.  One-half  teaspoonf  ul  of  salt ;  one  small  cup  of  molasses 
(treacle).  A  little  over  a  pint  of  skim-milk.  When  baked  in  the  Aladdin  Oven,  the  dish 
should  be  put  on  the  shelf  next  above  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  where  it  should  bake  three 
hours  with  the  lamp  at  its  full  capacity. 

INDIAN  PUDDING. 

Two  quarts  of  milk  ;  one-half  cup  of  molasses,  one  cup  of  Indian  meal.  One-half  tea- 
spoonful  of  salt ;  piece  of  butter.  Bake  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  four  hours  on  the  top  shelf 
with  the  lamp  low,  in  rather  a  flat  dish. 

Note.— Cornmeal,  "  country  ground,"  so-called,  that  is,  cornmeal  which  has  been  ground  by  slow  processes, 
and  which  has  not  been  subjected  to  drying  in  kilns,  is  much  better  and  possesses  a  much  higher  flavor  than  the 
common  cornmeal,  such  as  we  find  in  the  shops.  I  attribute  this  difference  to  the  fact  that  the  meal  has  not  been 
heated  ;  therefore  its  fine  flavor  has  not  been  driven  away.  Meal  of  this  description,  both  of  the  Rhode  Island 
white  variety  and  the  common  yellow  meal  can  be  purchased  of  Messrs.  John  B.  Chace  &  Son,  42  South  Main 
street,  Providence,  R.  I. 

FISH  AND  CLAMS,   SEASIDE  FASHION. 

Take  out  the  shelves  from  the  oven  ;  make  use  of  a  tin  box  of  sufficient  size  and  depth  ; 
in  the  bottom  put  some  wet  rock-weed  or  sea-weed  ;  put  in  the  clams  ;  add  another  layer  of 
rock- weed  ;  put  in  the  fish  ;  cover  with  rock- weed  ;  put  the  cover  on  the  box,  if  you  have  a 
cover  ;  put  into  the  oven  and  subject  to  heat  for  a  sufficient  time.  This  method  corresponds 
to  a  clam-bake. 

SAM  WELLER  HASH. 

Chop  into  pieces  of  a  rather  large  size,  one  pound  of  ham  and  two  pounds  of  veal ;  add 
cold  water  and  seasoning  ;  and,  if  you  like  it,  thicken  with  a  little  bread-crumb  or  flour ; 
simmer  slowly  a  very  long  time.  After  being  sufficiently  simmered,  this  compound  may  be 
put  into  a  baking-pan,  covered  with  a  light  crust,  and  converted  into  a  '•  weal  and  ham  "  pie. 

FISH  CHOWDER. 

This  dish  can  be  made  in  perfection  in  the  following  way  :  Cut  the  pork  in  thin  slices, 
place  in  the  dish  which  is  fitted  with  a  drainer,  put  this  upon  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  try 
out  the  fat,  and  then  make  use  of  pork  in  the  usual  way  in  making  the  chowder,  combined 
with  fish,  milk,  potatoes,  crackers,  onions,  etc.,  according  to  the  customary  method.  Simmer 
slowly  with  moderate  heat.  » 

It  will  be  observed  with  respect  to  chowder  and  many  other  kinds  of  food  which 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION.  63 

when  cooked  at  a  high  heat  are  not  appetizing  if  heated  over  again,  that  when 
cooked  at  a  moderate  degree  of  heat  they  may  be  warmed  over  the  next  day  and 
will  prove  to  be  quite  as  appetizing,  and  in  some  cases  more  so  than  when  first 
prepared. 

SALT   FISH. 

Any  one  fond  of  this  dish  may  prepare  it  in  the  best  way  by  moderate  cooking  in  a  dish 
with  a  little  water  added,  preparing  the  pork  scraps  in  the  same  way  that  is  directed  for  try- 
ing out  the  fat  of  the  pork  for  making  chowder.     Cook  the  beets  thoroughly. 

COOKING  WHOLE    HAMS. 

Soak  the  ham  first.  Use  a  lamp  of  moderate  power  ;  put  the  ham  in  a  cheese-pot,  add 
half  a  bottle  of  cider  or  red  wine;  fill  up  the  interstices  with  sweet  meadow  hay  ;  very  little 
water  to  be  used  ;  put  on  the  cover  and  cook  very  slowly  for  a  long  time  according  to  the  size 
of  the  ham.  Remove  from  the  pot,  take  off  the  skin,  baste  with  bread  crumbs  ;  do  not  use 
cloves  unless  you  like  them  ;  place  a  high-power  lamp  under  the  oven  and  roast  on  the  lower 
shelf  half  an  hour. 

CHEESE. 

Reference  may  be  made  to  the  chapter  in  Dr.  Mattieu  Williams'  Chemistry  of  Cookery  on 
the  nutritive  value  of  cheese  provided  it  is  thoroughly  cooked.  An  excellent  pudding  may 
be  made  in  the  following  way  :  Two  parts  stale  bread  ;  two  parts  skim  milk  ;  one  part  skim- 
milk  cheese  broken  up  into  fragments ;  season  as  for  a  Welsh  rarebit ;  add  a  very  little 
bi-carbonate  of  soda,  according  to  the  instructions  given  in  Dr.  Williams'  book.  Cook  for  a 
long  time  at  a  moderate  heat.  To  those  who  are  fond  of  cheese  this  dish  will  prove  to  be 
appetizing  and  digestible.  The  proper  cooking  of  cheese  converts  it  from  an  indigestible 
substance  into  a  very  nutritious  one. 

Persons  who  have  preferred  very  rare  meat  or  game  may  find  the  flavors  more 
fully  developed  if  the  process  of  cooking  is  continued  so  that  the  color  is  more 
brown  than  that  of  the  rare  part  of  the  joint  cooked  in  the  ordinary  method,  while 
at  the  same  time  the  outside  will  not  be  dried  or  scorched. 

A  NEW  METHOD  OF  PREPARING  "HOG  AND  HOMINY." 

It  is  well  known  that  the  favorite  dish  of  the  Southern  black  man  is  "  hog  and  hominy." 
The  combination  appears  to  be  readily  digested.  It  is  said  that  bacon  and  wheat  meal  may 
not  be  easily  digested,  or  beef  and  cornmeal.  The  ' '  hog  and  hominy  "  is  a  very  strong  food. 
There  is  probably  no  body  of  workmen  subsisted  at  so  low  a  cost,  regard  being  given  to  the 
force  generated  in  the  food,  as  the  black  men  who  work  on  a  ration  of  bacon  and  corn  meal. 
The  customary  allowance  in  the  South  is,  I  believe,  three  and  one-half  pounds  of  baeon  and 
one  peck  of  corn  meal  for  each  week's  supply.  A  very  delicious  compound  may  be  made  by 
placing  in  a  pot  one  cupful  of  meal  previously  moistened  with  water  sufficient  to  swell  it 
without  softening  it  too  much.  Upon  the  top  lay  a  few  sau«ages  ;  put  in  the  oven  and 
cook  at  a  low  heat  for  five  hours.  Bacon  may  be  cooked  in  the  same  way,  but  the  meal 
requires  more  water.     This  is  one  of  the  dishes  that  I  propose  to  put  into  the  workman's 


64  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 

pail,  with  a  view  to  the  lamp  being  lighted  when  the  work  begins  ;  the  dinner  to  be  ready 
five  hours  later  at  noon. 

SALT  CODFISH  AND  CREAM". 

Break  the  fish  into  slivers ;  put  it  into  a  porcelain  or  earthern  pot  with  cream,  if  you  have 
it — or  with  milk  or  a  little  butter  added ;  cover  the  vessel  and  cook  at  a  moderate  heat  for 
one  hour  or  more  ;  the  longer  the  more  tender. 

PASTRY. 

Pies  may  be  baked  in  the  most  perfect  manner  in  the  Aladdin  Oven.  The  use  of  tin 
rings  with  separate  circular  plates  pierced  with  many  small  holes  for  the  bottom,  is  recom- 
mended in  place  of  the  common  tin  plates.  The  bottom  crust  will  then  be  as  absolutely  and 
as  thoroughly  baked  as  the  top  crust.  "  Pale  pie,''''  may  thus  be  banished  from  the  customary 
bill  of  fare. 

By  permission  of  Mr.  James  F.  Case,  I  give  a  recipe  for  what  is  named 

"case's  health  bread." 
For  five  loaves  of  one  and  one-half  pounds  each,  two  pints  of  oatmeal  gruel  pre- 
viously cooked  very  thoroughly;  three  and  one-half  pounds  of  "whole  or  entire  wheat 
flour";  one-half  pint  of  milk;  one  tablespoonful  of  sugar  or  two  teaspoonfula  of  New 
Orleans  molasses  ;  one  teaspoonf  ul  of  salt ;  one  cake  of  fresh  Fleischmann's  Yeast.  Use  the 
oatmeal  gruel  and  milk  for  wetting  the  flour.  Knead  thoroughly.  Keep  in  the  bread-raiser 
until  the  batch  has  about  doubled  itself  in  bulk  ;  then  form  into  loaves  ;  put  back  into  the 
bread-raiser  for  thirty  to  forty  minutes.  Then  bake  in  the  Aladdin  Oven,  previously  heated, 
for  about  one  hour  and  a  half. 

In  my  own  household  and  ofl&ce  practice  we  have  made  use  of  even  a  larger 
portion  of  oatmeal,  and  have  also  mixed  Graham  flour  with  it  in  place  of  the  whole 
wheat  flour.  A  very  delicious  kind  of  bread  may  also  be  made  in  the  Case  Bread- 
Raiser  and  the  Aladdin  Oven  almost  wholly  of  rye  meal ;  only  enough  wheat  flour 
being  dusted  upon  the  hands,  if  people  will  persist  in  kneading  bread  by  hand,  or 
upon  the  spoon,  to  overcome  the  stickiness  of  the  rye.  Even  hand  kneading  with 
a  spoon  may  be  displaced  by  a  very  simple  mechanical  spoon  or  Bread-Kneader  sold 
by  Edwin  Prescott,  21  Hamilton  street,  Boston, 

Any  one  who  never  cooked  anything  before  may  begin  in  the  following  way  : 
first,  by  making  some  bread,  which  is  commonly  considered  a  great  mystery  but  is 
really  a  very  simple  matter.  Let  it  be  assumed  that  the  oven  has  been  brought  into 
a  seasoned  condition  by  being  heated  a  few  hours  each  day  for  a  week. 

A  beginner  may  well  learn  how  to  make  bread  as  a  first  lesson,  I  therefore  give 
the  following  definite  instructions  : 

BREAD. 

Mix  in  a  bowl  one  quart  of  flour,  either  white,  whole  wheat  or  rye  meal,  with  a  little  less 
than  a  pint  of  water  at  blood  heat— 90°  F.   Add  one-half  a  (level)  teaspoonf  ul  of  salt ;  mix  one- 


THE   SCIENCE    OF    NUTEITION.  65 

third  of  a  cake  of  Fleischmann's  compressed  yeast  in  one-half  teacupful  of  warm  water  ;  be- 
sure  that  the  yeast  is  fresh.  Add  this  dissolved  yeast  to  the  flour  and  salt ;  stir  with  a  spoon 
into  homogenous  dough.  The  whole  object  of  kneading  with  the  hand,  the  spoon  or  the 
mechanical  kneader  is  to  diffuse  the  yeast  evenly  in  the  dough.  I  have  found  it  a  very  simple 
matter — easily  mastered  after  one  or  two  trials.  Butter  the  bread  pans  and  put  in  the 
dough  to  rise.  If  you  have  a  Case  Bread-Raiser,  use  it  for  the  raising  of  the  bread  accord- 
ing to  the  instructions  given  with  it,  for  about  three  hours. 

Time  the  work  so  that  the  pans  may  be  transferred  to  the  oven  when  it  is  well  heated, 
perhaps  after  the  dinner  has  been  removed  from  it.  Then  bake  two  hours  ;  a  little  less  or 
a  good  deal  more,  according  to  the  taste.  If  you  have  no  bread-raiser  place  a  pan  of  warm 
water  on  the  lower  shelf  of  the  oven  ;  place  the  dough  in  the  bread  pans  on  the  middle  and 
upper  shelves.  Light  the  lamp,  and  keep  the  flame  as  low  as  possible,  yet  burning.  Close 
the  oven,  and  in  about  three  hours  the  dough  will  be  raised.  The  important  point  is  to 
keep  the  dough  in  a  humid  atmosphere  at  90^  F.  for  a  certain  time — about  three  hours. 
Open  the  oven,  quickly  remove  the  pan  of  water,  place  the  bread  pan  upon  shelf  which  rests 
upon  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  turn  the  lamp  up  to  its  full  height,  and  bake  about  three 
hours.  It  may  be  safer  to  knead  the  bread  in  the  usual  way.  Ask  the  cook  how  to  do  it ; 
then  raise  it  and  bake  it  according  to  the  foregoing  rules. 

By  the  kindness  of  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  M.  D.,  I  may  add  two  recipes  which 
he  prepared  for  London  bakers  many  years  ago,  for  bread  which  he  recommends  in 
his  little  work  on  "  Food  and  Feeding"': 

DIRECTIONS  FOR  MAKING  WHOLE- MEAL  BREAD.      (iN  FLAT  CAKES.) 

With  Baking  Powder. — Take  two  pounds  of  coarsely- ground  whole  wheat  meal,  and 
half  a  pound  of  fine  flour,  or,  better  still,  the  same  weight  of  fine  Scotch  oatmeal.  Mix 
thoroughly  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  baking  powder  and  a  little  salt ;  then  rub  in  two 
ounces  of  butter  and  make  into  dough — using  a  wooden  spoon — with  cold  skimmed  milk  or 
milk  and  water,  soft  in  consistence,  so  that  it  can  almost  be  poured  into  the  tin  ring,  which 
gives  it  form  when  baked.  In  this  manner  it  is  to  be  quickly  made  into  flat  cakea  (like  tea 
cakes),  and  baked  on  a  tin,  the  rings  used  being  about  an  inch  high  and  seven  or  eight  inches 
in  diameter,  each  inclosing  a  cake.  Put  them  without  delay  into  a  quick  oven  at  the  outset, 
letting  them  be  finished  thoroughly,  at  a  lower  temperature. 

With  Yeast. — When  good  German  or  other  yeast  can  be  obtained,  add  the  necessary 
quantity  to  the  dough,  made  as  above  directed  with  the  two  meals,  butter,  salt,  and  warm  milk 
and  water  ;  make  the  cakes  and  put  them  on  the  tin  with  their  rings,  and  set  near  the  fire  to 
rise,  which  they  will  do  in  an  hour  or  little  under.  Then  bake  in  a  medium  oven  in  the  same 
way  as  for  any  other  fermented  bread.  When  yeast  is  used  and  not  baking  powder,  a 
medium  coarse  oatmeal  may  be  added  to  the  wheat  meal. 

The  object  of  making  this  bread  in  flat  cakes  or  in  scones,  is  to  insure  a  light 
and  well-cooked  product.     It  is  difficult  to  insure  these  two  qualities  in  the  form  of 


66  THE   SCIEN"CE   OF   NUTRITION. 

loaves  except  of  the  smallest  size.     A  larger  proportion  of  oatmeal,  if  preferred, 
can  be  adopted  by  either  method.  H.  T. 

Sir  Henry  Thompson  adds  in  his  note  to  myself  the  following  : 

' '  One  reason  for  using  oatmeal  also,  is,  that  not  only  is  a  more  nutritious  combination 
made,  but  a  less  soft  and  spongy  mass  when  baked,  i.  e. ,  in  the  interior  of  the  bread  ;  but 
the  mixture  is  much  better  when  cooked  in  flat  cakes  one  and  one-fourth  inches  to  one  and 
one-half  inches  thick  ;  about  seven  or  eight  inches  in  diameter.  The  flavor,  too,  is  excellent. 
On  my  own  table  I  use  one-third  oat  and  two-thirds  wheat  meal." 

PORK  CHOPS  SMOTHERED  IN  APPLES. 

Place  sliced  apples  in  a  dish  ;  lay  the  chops  upon  them  ;  sprinkle  with  a  little  salt ;  cover 
again  with  sliced  apple  ;  put  a  cover  upon  the  dish,  and  cook  thoroughly,  more  or  less  time 
according  to  the  quantity. 

Chicken,  quail  and  some  other  kinds  of  meat,  mainly  white  meat,  may  be 
cooked  in  the  same  way  with  very  appetizing  results. 

CHICKEN,  QUAIL  AND  PARTRIDGE,  FRENCH  MUSHROOM  OR  CELERY  SAUCE. 

Cut  up  the  chickens,  halve  the  partridges,  cook  the  quail  whole.  Place  in  dishes  which 
may  be  covered  ;  make  a  white  sauce  of  bread  crumbs ;  season  it  to  taste,  but  mainly  de 
pending  for  flavor  either  upon  French  mushrooms  and  the  liquor  which  comes  with  them,  or 
upon  the  root  or  hock  of  celery  previously  simmered  so  long  that  it  can  be  reduced  to  a  puree; 
make  a  sufficient  quantity  of  sauce,  to  fairly  fill  the  dish  when  the  birds  are  put  in,  and  sim- 
mer slowly  with  the  cover  on,  for  such  a  length  of  time  as  may  correspond  to  the  quantity. 

MINCED  GANDER  ON  TOAST. 

Order  the  toughest  old  gander  that  can  be  found  in  the  market ;  prepare  him  in  the 
usual  way  ;  stuff  with  onion  stuffing,  or  if  preferred,  in  European  fashion  with  prunes  and 
chestnuts.  Place  in  a  large  vessel  with  a  moderate  amount  of  water,  the  vessel  being  covered  ; 
place  in  the  oven  ;  light  the  lamp  at  about  half  power,  and  simmer  slowly  all  night ;  test  with 
a  fork  in  the  morning,  and  if  not  tender,  add  a  little  more  water  if  more  is  needed,  and, 
simmer  all  day.  In  about  eighteen  hours  the  work  will  be  done.  The  meat  will  then  be  so 
tender  that  it  cannot  be  carved  ;  mince  and  serve  on  toast  with  plenty  of  gravy,  of  whieh 
there  will  be  an  abundance. 

FOWLS. 

Select  a  pan  about  an  inch  and  a  half  deep  that  will  hold  two  or  three  fowls.  Put  the 
fowls  in  the  pan,  stufiing  them  if  you  like.  Lay  thin  slices  of  pork  over  the  fowls.  Fill  the 
pan  up  to  the  lip  with  water.  Put  in  the  middle  of  the  oven  and  simmer  four  or  five  hours 
according  to  the  age  and  size  of  the  fowls. 

The  fowls  miy  then  be  removed  from  the  first  pan  ;  may  be  basted  with  bread  crumbs 
and  butter,  and  served  as  a  roast ;  or  may  be  served  as  boiled  fowl,  to  which  they  are  far 
superior,  with  a  butter  and  egg  sauce.  The  water  in  the  pan  should  be  saved,  allowed  to 
cool ;  remove  the  grease,  and  use  it  the  next  day  with  the  carcasses  to  make  broth  or  soup. 


THE   SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION.  67 

MACARONI, 

Macaroni  may  be  cooked  without  being  previously  boiled,  with  any  kind  of  sauce  that 
may  be  preferred.  The  dish  which  is  very  popular  with  my  own  friends,  consists  of  mac- 
aroni moistened  with  liquor  from  the  can  of  French  mushrooms,  the  mushrooms  being  also 
cooked  with  the  macaroni ;  no  cheese.  For  appearance  add  a  little  butter  and  bread  crumbs, 
sprinkled  over  the  top. 

DUCK  AND  GROUSE. 

When  a  distinguished  purveyor  was  asked  what  to  do  with  the  carcass  of  the  duck  after 
the  breast  had  been  removed,  he  replied,  "  Better  give  it  to  the  poor."  This  is  not  wholly 
true.  The  leg  of  the  duck  when  tender  is  very  good,  but  there  may  be  a  better  use  for  the 
legs  and  wings  either  of  duck  or  grouse,  which  are  apt  to  be  wasted  when  cooked  on  the  bird. 

Remove  them  before  cooking,  place  them  in  a  pan  with  a  little  water  and  seasoning. 
Simmer  them  along  time  until  all  the  flesh  can  be  taken  from  the  bone,  then  the  lean  part 
may  be  forced  through  a  colander,  or  else  mince  very  fine  and  use  with  the  giblets  in  a  gravy 
or  sauce.  Roast  the  rest  of  the  duck,  more  or  less  according  to  taste,  in  the  usual  manner 
The  abundance  of  sauce  made  in  this  way  will  be  appreciated. 

A  Washington  method  is  to  cook  coarse  hominy  and  place  it  with  the  duck  so  as  to  absorb 
the  juices.  Hominy  should  first  be  cooked  separately  ;  it  would  probably  be  better  to  simmer 
it  very  slowly  and  for  a  long  time  ;  then  use  it.  Cooking  hominy  is  claimed  to  be  a  fine  art, 
but  it  is  done  in  perfection  in  the  Aladdin  Oven. 

WASHINGTON  DUCK.      (WITH  ADDENDA.) 

Place  in  a  granite-ware  or  crockery  dish,  heating  it  first  in  the  oven,  a  layer  of  very 
coarse  hominy,  rice  or  macaroni,  with  as  little  water  as  will  serve  to  soften  it  in  the  process 
of  cooking ;  place  upon  the  bottom  shelf  and  cook  until  it  is  about  half  done. 

Make  a  thin  batter  by  beating  a  little  butter,  bread  crumb  and  egg  together ;  split 
chicken,  grouse  or  partridge  as  if  for  broiling  (legs  and  wings  may  be  left  on  or  may  be  re- 
moved to  be  simmered  separately),  small  birds  whole — roll  in  the  batter,  add  a  little  butter 
and  salt  to  the  hominy,  rice  or  macaroni,  place  the  birds  thereon  ;  return  to  the  oven  on  one 
of  the  middle  or  upper  shelves  and  leave  until  done. 

For  variation,  add  to  the  hominy,  rice  or  macaroni,  a  few  fresh  mushrooms,  or  canned 
mushrooms  and  liquor — with  chicken  add  some  curry — with  duck  a  suspicion  of  cayenne  and 
onion — a  little  Jelly  sauce — or  chop  some  celery  and  cook  it  from  the  start  with  the  other 
base.    With  chicken  a  couple  of  sausages  may  be  added. 

The  gravy  and  fat  will  be  absorbed  either  on  the  hominy,  rice  or  macaroni,  and  the  dish 
will  be  most  appetizing. 

Another  way  is  to  put  the  hominy,  rice  or  macaroni  and  the  bird  into  a  dish  which  has  a 
close  cover,  cook  thoroughly  before  removing  the  cover  ;  then  beat  up  a  little  bread  crumb 
and  butter  with  the  white  of  an  egg,  spread  this  over  the  surface,  remove  the  cover  and  put 
the  dish  upon  the  upper  shelf  where  it  will  be  well  browned.  If  the  birds  are  preferred  rare, 
keep  them  out  until  half  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour  before  serving.     Use  gumption. 

If  the  legs  and  wings  with  the  giblets  are  to  be  simmered,  start  cold  so  as  to  draw  all  the 


08  THE   SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 

juices,  in  order  to  make  gravy — the  meat  may  be  very  finely-chopped  and  added — or  if  sim- 
mered long  enough,  converted  into  pulp  or  puree. 

CRISPY  CAKE. 

Most  of  the  labor  which  is  expended  in  rolling  thin  gingerbread  and  other  kinds 
of  cake,  is  wasted.  The  common  idea  that  the  crisp  quality  of  thin  cake  depends 
upon  a  very  hot  oven,  is  a  blunder.  The  proper  method  for  cooking  thin  and  crisp 
kinds  of  cake  is  as  follows  : 

Use  either  a  large  tin  baking  pan  wrong  side  up  ;  or,  what  is  better,  a  sheet  of  Kussia 
iron  which  it  is  better  to  have  prepared  with  the  edges  turned  over  all  around  so  that  it  may 
not  spring  in  service.  Spread  what  may  be  called  the  dough  or  mixture  that  is  to  be  cooked, 
very  thin,  smoothing  and  spreading  it  with  a  knife  without  previously  rolling  it.  Leave  the 
tight  shelf  upon  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  and  place  the  pan  wrong  side  up  on  the  sheet  with 
the  cake  spread  upon  the  bottom,  on  this  lower  shelf.  Bake,  as  a  rule,  about  forty- five 
minutes.  But  every  on^  will  want  some  more.  Enough  of  such  cake  is  always  a  little  more. 
The  area  of  the  bottom  shelf  of  the  oven  is  limited.  I  have  had  some  large  sheets  of  iron 
prepared  ;  four  to  lay  flat  directly  upon  each  shelf  ;  four  others  with  the  edges  turned  down 
about  an  inch  and  a  half,  so  that  I  can  get  eight  sheets  into  the  oven.  These  may  be  put  in, 
and  the  bake  may  begin  while  they  are  all  in  the  original  positions,  one  above  another,  but 
they  must  be  changed  in  succession  so  as  to  get  each  sheet  upon  the  bottom  for  a  little  while, 
if  it  is  thought  expedient  to  give  all  a  uniform  brown  color.  If  the  whole  number  of  sheets 
is  made  use  of,  the  product  will  be  about  twelve  square  feet,  which  may  possibly  be  enough, 
although  a  little  more  will  soon  be  called  for. 

The  recipes  are  as  follows  : 

THIN  SUGAR  GINGERBRKAD. 

One  cup  of  flour,  one  cup  of  sugar,  half  a  cup  of  butter,  one  teaspoonful  of  ginger, 
one  egg,  three  tablespoonfuls  of  milk.  Beat  the  eggs  and  milk  together  ;  add  the  other  in- 
gredients.   This  is  the  unit  for  a  small  quantity. 

THIN  MOLASSES  GINGERBREAD. 

One  cup  of  flour,  half  a  cup  of  butter,  half  a  cup  of  sugar,  half  a  cup  of  molasses,  one  tea- 
spoonful  of  ginger,  one  egg.  Beat  the  eggs  and  milk  together  and  proceed  as  in  the  pre- 
vious recipe. 

BROWN   PUDDING. 

One  cup  of  flour,  one-half  cup  raisins,  a  little  nutmeg,  a  little  cinnamon,  a  little  all- 
spice, one  teaspoonful  baking  powder,  one  teaspoonful  butter,  three  tablespoonfuls  molasses, 
a  little  salt.     Bake  four  hours. 

PARKER  HOUSE  ROLLS. 

One  quart  skimmed  milk,  one  egg,  butter  the  size  of  an  egg,  flour  suflBcient  to  make  a 
smooth  dough,  one-half  cake  of  yeast.  Raise  five  hours.  Bake  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
at  full  heat  of  oven. 


THE  SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION.  '     69 

OMELET. 

Three  eggs,  one-half  cup  of  milk,  two  teaspoonf  uls  of  cracker  crumbs,  a  little  salt,  small 
piece  of  butter.  Beat  the  whites  to  a  froth,  and  beat  the  yolks  up  with  a  fork.  Heat  a  pan 
in  tne  oven  and  then  butter  it.    Put  tbs  omelet  in  the  pan  and  cover  it.    Cook  fifteen  minutes. 

VEAL  CUTLETS. 

Cut  the  veal  in  round  pieces,  dip  them  into  fine  bread  crumbs  and  sauter  them  a  light 
brown  in  a  little  pork.  Then  put  them  into  a  saucepan  with  a  piece  of  raw  veal  at  the 
bottom,  one-half  pint  of  water,  the  rind  of  one  lemon,  half  a  carrot,  one  half  a  turnip,  one- 
half  an  onion  cut  very  fine.  A  teaspoonful  of  walnut  catsup,  a  little  salt,  a  shake  of  cayenne 
and  one  teaspoonful  of  capers.  Simmer  slowly  three  and  one-half  hours  or  more.  When 
dished  chop  the  yolk  of  a  hard-boiled  egg  very  fine,  and  sprinkle  over  with  capers.  Strain 
the  gravy  and  pour  over. 

In  the  Aladdin  oven  in  order  to  "  sauter  "  remove  the  lower  tight  shelf,  place  a 
metal  pan  on  the  bottom;  lay  in  the  pork  and  veal,  add  a  little  lard,  butter  or  olive 
oil;  when  browned  on  one  side  turn  over.  A  little  practice  will  fix  the  time.  When 
first  practicing,  the  oven  doors  may  be  kept  open.  This  process  when  done  in  a 
spider  on  a  stove  is  commonly  called  frying  and  is,  when  done  at  a  high  heat,  as  bad 
a  method  as  could  be  devised.  When  well  done  at  a  suitable  heat  the  product  is 
most  appetizing. 

In  this  connection  I  will  again  point  out  that  in  very  many  recipes  which  are 
to  be  found  in  the  cookery  books,  directions  are  given,  first  to  fry  some  onions  or 
something  else  to  a  light-brown,  and  then  to  go  on  using  this  material  in  combina- 
tion with  others  in  the  final  process  of  cooking. 

In  many  cases  the  writers  do  not  mean  frying  by  immersion  in  very  hot  fat,  but 
what  they  really  mean  is  sauteing  or  frying  in  a  spider,  in  a  thin  film  of  fat,  olive 
oil  or  butter.  Therefore,  if  any  one  wishes  to  try  such  recipes  taken  from  the 
'books,  proceed  in  the  manner  laid  down  above. 

Cook  onions,  meat,  apples,  si23pets  of  toast  for  soup,  etc.,  etc.,  in  a  pan  on  the 
bottom  of  the  oven  with  a  little  fat  of  any  suitable  kind — butter,  oil,  beef  dripping; 
and  if  you  must  you  may  use  lard.  I  wouldn't. 

SHREWSBURY  CAKES. 

One  cup  of  flour,  one  cup  of  sugar,  half  a  cup  of  butter,  two  eggs,  a  little  mace. 
Beat  together  and  spread  as  before  directed  for  thin  cake. 

BOX  PUDDINGS. 

Slow  cooking  in  vessels  which  are  fitted  rather  closely  with  covers  so  as  not  to 
permit  evaporation,  yields  the  finest  flavor,  especially  in  respect  to  fruit.  A  recipe 
which  proved  to  be  very  delicious  when  cooked  in  the  Workman's  Pail  in  one  box, 
was  made  in  the  following  proportions: 


70  THE   SCIENCE   OF   i^UTEITION". 

Half  a  pint  of  milk,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar,  one  egg,  a  little  pineapple  syrup 
flavoring,  two  apples  pared  with  the  core  taken  out.    Other  flavors  may  be  used  if  preferred. 

Hardly  any  combination  of  fruit,  marmalade,  jam  with  other  ingredients 
cooked  in  this  way  ever  fails  to  yield  very  delicious  results. 

ANOTHER  BOX  PUDDING. 

Half  a  cup  of  crumbs  of  stale  bread,  one  cup  of  milk,  two  spoonfuls  of  sugar,  half  a 
cup  of  stoneless  raisins,  one  egg,  pineapple  or  lemon  flavoring.  Cook  three  or  four  hours  in 
a  pail  in  tight  boxes.    Serve  with  or  without  cold  sauce. 

BREAD  AND  RAISIN  CAKE. 

Mix  in  a  bowl  one  quart  of  white  flour  with  a  little  less  than  one  pint  of  water  ;  one- 
half  level  spoonful  of  salt ;  one-half  teacupful  of  sugar  or  more  according  to  taste  ;  one-half 
teacupful  of  butter  softened  a  little  by  heat  so  that  it  will  mix  well,  but  not  melted  ;  grate  in 
half  a  nutmeg,  or  add  a  little  cinnamon  or  allspice  ;  add  a  full  teacupful  of  stoneless  raisins 
or  of  dried  currants,  or  of  chopped  dried  apples.  Mix  one-third  of  a  cake  of  Fleischmann's 
yeast  with  warm  water,  add  that,  stir  the  whole  thoroughly  together  into  a  stiff  batter.  Be 
careful  not  to  make  the  batter  too  thin  by  using  too  much  water.  Raise  about  three  hours, 
and  bake  about  three  hours.  In  order  to  get  the  most  thorough  bake,  and  to  make  the  cake 
as  tender  as  it  can  be,  after  it  is  thoroughly  baked  and  well  browned  set  it  on  the  upper  shelf 
of  the  oven,  place  a  pan  of  warm  water  underneath,  lower  the  flame  of  the  lamp  to  the 
lowest  point,  and  keep  the  cake  in  the  oven  for  several  hours. 

The  foregoing  specific  directions  may  suffice  by  analogy  to  enable  any  one  who 
possesses  the  required  one  part  of  gumption  to  apply  the  simple  principles  which 
have  been  laid  down,  to  other  specific  recipes. 

In  dealing  with  the  materials  of  which  our  food  consists,  it  may  be  remarked 
that  they  may  be  divided  in  a  broad  and  general  way  into  certain  classes  :  First, 
meats  ;  second,  fish ;  third,  grains  ;  and  fourth,  vegetables. 

Keversing  the  order,  roots  and  tubers  may  preferably  be  boiled.  They  are  not 
injured  by  it ;  the  expansion  of  the  steam  in  the  cells  renders  the  potato  mealy  and 
more  palatable,  while  boiling  does  not  injure  beets,  carrots  or  parsnips,  because 
there  is  enough  flavor  and  to  spare,  in  either.  Green  vegetables,  like  asparagus, 
pease  and  beans,  to  which  squash  may  be  added,  are  better  and  of  finer  flavor  when 
simmered,  either  in  their  own  juice  or  with  a  little  water  added,  than  if  they  are 
boiled. 

All  the  grains  whether  converted  into  the  form  of  bread,  or  whether  cooked  in 
the  form  of  oatmeal,  mush,  cracked  wheat,  etc.,  retain  their  flavor  and  are  much 
better,  if  cooked  long  at  a  very  moderate  degree  of  heat.  Those  which  are  to  be 
eaten  in  the  form  of  porridge  or  mush,  are  much  better  when  cooked  for  a  long  time 
at  less  than  the  boiling  point,  than  when  cooked  in  any  other  way. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   KUTRITION-  71 

In  respect  to  meats,  it  may  be  remarked  that  to  boil  meat  is  to  spoil  meat. 
While  "  meat  may  be  boiled  to  rags/'  as  it  is  sometimes  put,  the  boiling  toughens 
each  separate  fibre,  while  the  process  takes  all  the  flavor  and  juice  of  the  meat  into 
the  water.  All  other  methods,  roasting,  imitating  a  broil,  etc.,  applied  to  meat, 
should  be  done  at  such  a  moderate  degree  of  heat  as  will  not  distil  or  dissociate  the 
fats,  and  not  at  the  high  heat  of  the  common  stove. 

The  chafing  dish  or  blazer  is  a  valuable  auxiliary  to  the  oven  in  making 
sauces  or  preparing  cold  meat  upon  a  table.  A  very  excellent  recipe  for  serving 
cold  mutton  or  venison  in  a  delicious  hot  form  is  as  follows  : 

Put  the  gravy  into  a  chaflag  dish  or  blazer,  add  a  saltspoonful  ©f  Nepaul  pepper,  a 
suspicion  of  cayenne  pepper,  a  wine  glass  of  sherry  or  white  wine,  a  dessertspoonful  of 
walnut  catsup,  two  teaspoonfuls  or  a  little  more  according  to  taste,  of  currant  jelly.  Stir 
while  the  ingredients  are  mixing.  Put  in  the  cold  meat  and  warm  it,  or  cook  it  a  little  if  it  is 
very  rare.    In  dealing  with  cold  beef  omit  the  jelly. 

ALL   SOETS    OF   THINGS. 

Take  any  receipt  out  of  any  book.  Bear  in  mind  that  beating  up  materials  or 
mixing  them  together,  is  a  different  matter  from  stirring  them  when  they  are  upon 
the  stove.  The  stirring  process  over  the  fire,  which  leads  to  so  much  discomfort,  is 
merely  a  corrective  of  the  bad  methods  of  hot  iron-stove  cooking.  It  simply  keeps 
the  mixture  in  the  pan  from  scorching  or  burning  under  the  excessive  heat.  Stir- 
ring upon  a  stove  is  in  fact  a  process  of  cooling  which  may  be  wholly  dispensed  with 
when  the  same  materials  are  subjected  to  a  moderate  heat  in  the  Aladdin  Oven. 
Acting  upon  this  hint,  almost  every  recipe  that  is  given  in  any  of  the  books,  can 
be  worked  out  successfully  with  the  Aladdin  Oven  or  in  the  chafing  dish,  much 
better  than  it  can  be  upon  the  hot  iron  stove  or  range. 

FBYING. 

I  have  not  attempted  true  frying  in  the  Aladdin  Oven,  although  I  doubt  not 
that  if  a  powerful  lamp  were  used  and  the  frying  pan  were  placed  on  the  bottom  of 
the  oven  it  could  be  done,  but  it  were  better  done  on  an  open  stove. 

The  abominable  process  commonly  called  frying  as  practiced  in  this  country, 
consists  in  a  very  bad  method  of  sauteing  and  is  not  frying  at  all.  What  true 
frying  is  is  most  fully  explained  by  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  M.  D.,  in  his  most 
valuable  treatise  on  Food  and  Feeding,  pp.  86,  87,  88,  89,  which  I  venture 
to  copy  : 


72  THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 

^^  The  process  of  frying  is  rarely  understood,  and  is  generally  very  imperfectly 
practised  by  the  ordinary  English  cook.  The  products  of  our  frying  pan  are  often 
greasy,  and,  therefore,  for  many  persons  indigestible,  the  shallow  form  of  the  pan 
being  unsuited  for  the  process  of  cooking  at  a  high  temperature  in  oil,  that  is,  at  a 
heat  of  about  360  degrees  to  390  degrees  Fahr.,  that  of  boiling  water  being  212 
degrees.  This  high  temperature  produces  results,  which  are  equivalent,  indeed,  to 
quick  roasting,  when  the  article  to  be  cooked  is  immersed  in  the  nearly  boiling  fat. 
Frying,  as  generally  conducted,  is  rather  a  combination  of  broiling  and  toasting  or 
scorching  ;  and  the  use  of  the  deep  pan  of  heated  oil  or  dripping,  which  is  essential  to 
the  right  performance  of  the  process,  and  especially  in  order  to  prevent  greasiness,  is  a 
rare  exception,  and  not  the  rule  in  ordinary  kitchens.  A  few  words  of  explanation 
are  necessary  in  relation  to  the  temperature  of  the  fat  which  forms  the  frying  bath, 
a  matter  of  importance  to  ensure  satisfactory  results.  When  a  bath  of  melting  fat 
is  placed  on  the  fire  and  the  temperature  has  risen  to  212  degrees,  some  bubbles 
come  to  the  surface  with  a  hissing  sound  ;  these  are 'due  to  a  small  portion  of  water, 
which  being  converted  into  steam,  rise  until  all  is  got  rid  of.  This  is  not  the 
boiling  of  the  fat,  which  is  now  tranquil,  and  when  the  temperature  has  advanced 
much  higher,  to  something  like  340  degrees,  a  slight  vapour  is  given  off.  If  the 
fat  is  permitted  to  become  much  hotter,  smoke  appears,  indicating  a  degree  of  heat 
to  be  avoided,  and  that  the  fat  has  reached  what  is  called  the  boiling  point;  when  it 
decomposes  and  spoils.  Before  this  is  reached,  the  heat  should  be  tested  by  putting 
in  a  slip  of  bread,  which  if  browned  in  a  few  seconds,  a  sufficient  temperature  has 
been  attained,  and  the  bath  ia  ready  for  use.  The  above  remarks  apply  equally  to 
the  temperature  of  any  oil  used  for  the  same  purpose.  The  princij^le  on  which 
success  depends  is,  that  at  the  moment  of  contact  with  the  almost  boiling  fat  or 
oil,  a  thin  film  of  every  part  of  the  surface  of  the  fish  or  other  object  to  be  fried  is 
coagulated,  so  that  the  juices  with  their  flavors,  etc.,  are  at  once  locked  up  within, 
and  nothing  can  escape.  The  bath  should,  therefore,  contain  quantity  sufficient, 
and  also  be  hot  enough,  to  effect  this  result  in  an  instant,  after  which,  and  during 
the  few  seconds  or  minutes  requisite  to  cook  the  interior,  the  heat  is  often  slightly 
lowered  with  advantage.  The  fish  or  other  material  employed  emerges,  when  done, 
with  a  surface  to  which  a  little  oil  adheres,  but  this  will  drain  off,  owing  to  its 
extreme  fluidity  when  hot,  if  left  on  a  napkin  slanting  a  minute  or  two  before  the 
fire  ;  better  still  on  white  blotting  paper  ;  and  thus  it  may  be  served  absolutely  free 
from  grease.  The  film  of  egg  often  apj)lied  to  the  surface  of  an  object  to  be  fried, 
is  in  the  same  manner  instantly  coagulated  and  forms  an  impermeable  case ;  while 
the  fine  bread  crumbs  adhering  to  it  take  a  fine  yellow  color,  being  slightly  charred 
or  toasted  by  the  high  temperature  they  are  exposed  to.     In  order  to  be  free  from 


THE   SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION".  78 

grease  the  bread  or  biscuit  crumbs  should  be  very  fine,  adhering  by  means  of  a  thin 
layer  of  egg  previously  applied  by  the  brush.  If  they  are  coarse  and  too  abundantly 
used,  grease  will  adhere  to  the  surface  or  be  absorbed  by  it. 

"Excellent  and  fresh  olive  oil,  which  need  not  be  so  perfect  in  tint  and  flavor 
as  the  choicest  kinds  reserved  for  the  salad  bowl,  is  the  best  available  form  of  fat  for 
frying,  and  is  sold  at  a  moderate  price  by  the  gallon  for  this  purpose  at  the  best 
Italian  warehouses.  Nothing,  perhaps,  is  better  than  well-clarified  beef  dripping, 
such  as  is  produced,  often  abundantly,  in  every  English  kitchen  ;  but  the  time- 
honored  traditions  of  our  perquisite  system  enable  any  English  cook  to  sell  this 
for  herself,  at  small  price,  to  a  little  trader  round  the  corner,  while  she  buys,  at  her 
employer's  cost,  a  quantity  of  pork  lard  for  frying  material,  at  double  the  price 
obtained  for  the  dripping.  Unfortunately,  however,  lard  is  the  worst  menstruum 
for  the  purpose,  the  most  difficult  to  work  in  so  as  to  free  the  matters  fried  in  it 
from  grease  ;  and  we  might  be  glad  to  buy  back  our  own  dripping  from  the 
aforesaid  little  trader,  at  a  profit  to  him  of  cent,  per  cent.,  if  only  the  purchase 
could  be  diplomatically  negotiated.  But  so  sweet  is  acquisition  by  way  of  per- 
quisite, that  none  of  the  present  race  of  cooks  appear  disposed  to  part  with  this 
particular  one  for  any  consideration  which  can  be  offered.  They  are,  doubtless, 
after  their  fashion,  true  to  their  order,  and  regard  in  the  light  of  sacrilege  any 
interference  with  these  principles  and  traditions." 

The  following  rules  and  specific  recipes  give  the  results  of  an  experience  of  about 
three  years  in  my  own  family  averaging  eight  to  ten  in  number,  the  oven  in  use  being 
the  standard  oven  under  the  control  of  an  intelligent  cook  who  has  greatly  aided  me 
in  the  development  of  this  system. 

I  think  it  better  to  give  the  rules  and  recipes  which  have  been  established  in 
household  practice  in  this  place,  to  be  followed  subsequently  by  others  derived  from 
the  practice  of  Miss  Daniell  and  Mrs.  Abel,  which  will  be  more  accurate.  Our  own 
practice  has  been  of  the  experimental  sort,  and  the  record  will  only  give  some  gen- 
eral ideas  of  what  we  have  done. 

SOUPS. 

For  soups  take  any  bones  or  scraps  of  meat  and  vegetables  that  are  in  a  sound  condition, 
cover  with  water  and  cook  over  night,  with  the  lamp  low.  Set  aside  to  cool,  remove  the  fat, 
and  treat  the  stock  according  to  taste.  After  a  very  little  experience  the  best  results  will  be 
secured. 

SHIN-OF-BEEF  SOm*. 

Four  pounds  shin  of  beef,  one  carrot,  one  onion,  a  few  whole  cloves  stuck  in  the  onion. 
Cook  over  night  with  water  to  cover.    Lamp  low. 


/4  THE   SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION. 

MUTTON  CHOPS. 

Set  chops  in  a  tin  or  on  a  drainer  on  the  bottom  shelf  of  the  oven.  Sprinkle  with  pepper 
and  salt.    Cook  half  an  hour.    Full  lamp  power. 

BEEFSTEAK — TWO  POUNDS. 

Set  in  tin  on  either  shelf — ^the  bottom  best.  Sprinkle  with  pepper  and  salt.  Cook  half 
an  hour.    Full  lamp  power. 

ROAST  BEEP  AND  POTATOES. 

The  oven  being  already  heated,  put  the  sirloin  in,  timed  according  to  size.  One  and  a 
half  hours  before  the  beef  is  to  be  served,  having  peeled  potatoes  of  moderate  size,  put  them 
into  the  pan  around  the  beef  ;  if  of  large  size,  divide  lengthAvise. 

VEAL. 

Four  pounds  of  veal,  two  slices  of  salt  pork.    Put  pork  on  top  of  veal.     Baste  with  a 
little  flour  and  salt.    Cook  two  hours  on  lower  shelf.     Full  lamp  power. 
Cook  beef,  mutton  and  lamb  the  same  way,  omitting  the  pork. 

CORNED  BEEF. 

Put  six  pounds  of  corned  beef  in  a  pprcelain  kettle.  Cover  with  water.  Put  cover  on 
and  cook  five  hours  on  lower  shelf.     Lamp  low. 

CHICKEN. 

Cut  chicken  to  broil.  Take  off  skin  and  lay  in  a  dish.  Cover  with  bread  crumbs  and 
small  pieces  of  butter.  Sprinkle  a  little  pepper  and  salt.  Cook  two  hours  on  bottom  shelf. 
Full  lamp  power. 

BAKED  CHICKEN. 

Out  chicken  in  pieces  and  skin  it.  Put  in  a  baking  dish  and  cover  with  cream  sauce ; 
cover  with  bread  crumbs  and  a  little  piece  of  butter.  Season  with  pepper  and  salt.  Cook 
two  chickens  two  and  one-half  hours. 

CREAM  SAUCE. 

One  tablespoonful  of  flour  and  one  of  butter  ;  one  pint  of  milk. 

PORK  SMOTHERJID  IN  APPLES. 

Out  all  the  fat  off  the  pork  chops  and  lay  in  a  braising  dish  ;  take  one  and  one-half  cups 
meat  stock  and  thicken  with  a  tablespoonful  browned  flour  and  a  small  piece  of  butter. 
Cover  and  cook  one  and  one-half  hours. 

GROUSE. 

Two  grouse  roast  half  to  one  hour,  lower  shelf. 

Gravy — One-half  pint  of  milk  put  in  a  saucepan  over  teakettle,  two  tablespoons  bread 
crumbs,  a  little  onion  juice,  and  pepper  and  salt  to  reason.    Pour  over  grouse  when  done. 

BEEF. 

Cook  one  hour.    Take  three  pounds  solid  beef  and  pour  the  following  gravy  over  it : 
Gravy — One  tablespoonful  of  browned  flour,   one  and  one-half  cups  French  canned 
mushrooms,  one-half  cup  boiling  water. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITIOK.  75 

QUAIL. 

Cook  one  and  one-half  hours.  Make  sauce  the  same  as  for  the  grouse  and  pour  over  the 
quail  when  they  are  done. 

SPICED  BEEF. 

Put  into  a  large  crock  a  strong  pickle — two-thirds  table  salt,  one-third  saltpetre— add 
two  great  spoonfuls  of  brown  sugar,  one  flat  tablespoonful  of  allspice,  one  flat  teaspoonful 
of  cloTes  and  one  of  mace,  a  dozen  pickled  onions,  half  a  teacupful  of  juniper  berries, 
pepper  to  taste.  In  this  liquor  put  ten  to  fifteen  pounds,  without  bone,  of  the  bottom  of  the 
round  of  beef ;  leave  it  in  five  or  six  days  ;  draw  off  the  liquor,  put  in  a  little  hot  water,  place 
in  the  oven  with  cover  on,  and  cook  five  or  six  hours. 

The  spices  can  be  varied,  juniper  berries  omitted,  tarragon  vinegar  added,  or  any  other 
variation.  To  be  eaten  cold.  Keep  the  beef  wholly  in  the  pickle,  with  a  clean  paving  stone 
on  the  top. 

HALIBUT  A  LA  CREME. 

Three  pounds  of  halibut. 

Sauce— One  pint  of  milk,  one  teaspoonful  of  onion  juice,  butter  half  the  size  of  an  egg^ 
Season  with  pepper  and  salt.  Break  the  fish  into  small  pieces,  put  a  layer  of  fish  in  the  dish, 
then  pour  some  sauce  over  it ;  then  put  another  layer  of  fish,  and  so  on  till  the  dish  is  full. 
Sprinkle  the  top  with  bread  crumbs.  Cook  one  and  one-quarter  hours.  High  wick, 
either  shelf. 

Baked  macaroni,  one  and  one-quarter  hours,  either  shelf,  high  wick.  Scalloped  tomato^ 
one  and  one-quarter  hours,  either  shelf,  high  wick.    Baked  potatoes,  two  hours. 

STEWED  CELERY. 

Take  two  heads  of  celery  and  cover  with  a  sauce  ;  cook  on  the  bottom  shelf  from  one  to 
two  hours.     Full  lamp  power. 

Sauce — One  pint  of  milk,  thickened  with  flour,  small  piece  of  butter.  Pour  this  over  the 
celery  and  sprinkle  with  bread  crumbs. 

OYSTER  PLANT. 

Take  two  oyster  plants  and  cook  in  the  same  way  as  the  celery. 

ASPARAGUS. 

Two  bunches  of  asparagus  ;  wash  and  cut  off  the  roots  ;  toast  some  bread,  and  butter  the 
slices  ;  put  the  toast  in  a  dish  and  the  asparagus  on  the  toast ;  put  little  piece  of  butter  on  the 
asparagus  and  sprinkle  with  salt.  Cover  and  cook  two  hours  on  either  shelf.  Full  lamp 
power.  , 

APPLE  PUDDING. 

Crust — Almost  one  pint  of  flour,  one  and  one-half  teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder,  butter 
one- half  the  size  of  an  egg,  one  cup  of  milk.    Roll  thin  like  pie  crust. 

Slice  five  apples  and  season  with  a  little  grated  nutmeg  and  two  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar; 
put  in  a  dish  and  cover  with  crust.  Bake  one  and  one-half  hours,  lower  shelf  is  best. 
Full  lamp  power. 


76  THE   SCIENCE   OF   ITUTBITIOlf. 

CRACKER  PUDDING. 

Take  a  quart  dish  and  put  in  it  a  layer  of  common  crackers.    On  the  crackers  put  a     | 
layer  of  raisins,  and  so  on  till  the  dish  is  full.    Take  three  eggs  and  beat  them  up  ;  add  one- 
half  pint  of  milk  and  vanilla  to  flavor.     Pour  over  the  pudding.    Cook  one  hour,  either  shelf. 
May  add  sugar  or  serve  with  sauce. 

POP  OVERS. 

Five  eggs,  one  cup  of  flour,  one  quart  of  milk,  a  little  salt ;  beat  eggs  very  light,  mix 
other  ingredients  with  egg.  Put  in  little  tins  or  cups  and  bake  one  hour,  lower  shelf. 
Full  lamp  power. 

COTTAGE   PUDDING. 

One  cup  of  butter,  one  cup  of  sugar,  two  cups  of  flour,  one  cup  of  milk,  two  eggs,  one 
and  one-half  teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder.  Beat  up  eggs  with  sugar  and  butter,  add  the 
other  things  and  bake  one  hour,  on  either  shelf. 

BROWN  PUDDING. 

Three  cups  of  flour,  one  cup  of  raisins,  one-half  cup  of  suet,  one  and  one-half  teaspoon- 
fuls of  baking  powder,  one  cup  of  molasses,  one  and  one-half  cups  of  milk,  little  salt,  one-half 
teaspoonful  grated  nutmeg,  one-half  teaspoonful  allspice,  one-half  teaspoonful  cloves.  Mix 
and  bake  three  hours. 

INDIAN  PUDDING. 

Two  quarts  of  milk,  one  cup  of  Indian  meal,  one  cup  of  molasses,  small  piece  of  butter. 
Mix  and  bake  four  hours  with  a  low  wick — either  shelf,  bottom  best. 

BIRD'S-NEST  PUDDING. 

Eight  apples  pared  and  cored,  one  pint  of  milk,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar,  one  tea- 
spoonful of  lemon  juice,  little  salt,  grated  peel  of  one  lemon.  Put  the  apple  in  dish,  mix 
the  other  ingredients  and  pour  over  the  apples.     Bake  one  hour. 

BATTER  PUDDING. 

Five  eggs,  one  quart  of  milk,  a  little  salt ;  beat  up  eggs  ;  dissolve  five  tablespoonfuls  of 
flour  in  the  milk,  mix  and  add  one-half  teaspoonful  of  vanilla.  Bake  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  on  either  shelf. 

GROUND  RICE  PUDDING. 

One  quart  of  milk,  heated ;  stir  in  one-half  cup  ground  rice ;  cook  on  range  fifteen 
minutes ;  let  it  cool ;  beat  three  eggs  very  light,  mix  with  the  rice  and  milk  ;  add  a  small 
tablespoonful  of  butter  and  the  juice  of  half  a  lemon.    Bake  one  hour. 

POOR   man's   PUDDING. 

Two  quarts  of  milk,  one  tablespoonful  of  sugar,  one-half  cup  of  rice,  a  little  salt.  Bake 
four  hours  with  a  low  wick. 

HASTY  PUDDING. 

One  and  one-half  cups  of  yellow  corn-meal,  two  quarts  of  water ;  cover.  Cook  four 
hours  on  second  shelf  with  the  wick  high,  or  all  night  with  the  wick  low. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION".  77 

To  JFry. — Put  a  pan  on  the  lower  shelf  of  the  oven  and  put  butter  in  it.  Cut  the 
pudding  in  thin  slices  and  fry  in  the  pan. 

SPONGE  CAKE. 

Six  eggs,  one-half  cup  of  boiling  water,  two  cups  of  flour ;  beat  whites  of  eggs  stiff ; 
beat  up  yolks  with  two  cups  of  sugar.  Mix  other  ingredients  in  and  bake  three-quarters  of 
an  hour  on  lower  shelf. 

SPICE  CAKE. 

Oae  cup  of  butter,  two  cups  of  sugar,  one  cup  of  milk,  four  eggs,  four  cups  of  flour,  one- 
half  teaspoonful  ground  nutmeg,  one-half  teaspoonful  cloves,  one-half  teaspoonful  allspice, 
less  than  one-half  teaspoonful  of  cinnamon,  one  cup  of  raisins ;  beat  up  eggs.  Mix  and  bake 
one  hour  on  bottom  shelf. 

GINGERBREAD. 

One  cup  of  molasses,  one-half  cup  of  boiling  water,  one  teaspoonful  of  butter,  one  and 
one  half  cups  of  flour,  one  egg,  a  little  salt ;  beat  up  egg;  add  other  ingredients,  the  flour 
last.    Bake  one  and  one- quarter  hours. 

RYE   BISCUITS. 

One  and  one-half  cups  rye  meal,  one  and  one-half  cups  of  white  flour,  one  and  one-half 
teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder,  one-half  teaspoonful  of  salt,  one  pint  of  milk,  one  egg ;  beat 
up  egg  and  mix  in  other  things.  Bake  one  and  one-quarter  hours,  either  shelf,  full  lamp 
power. 

BROWN  BREAD. 

Two  cups  of  rye  meal,  two  cups  of  Indian  meal,  one  cup  of  molasses,  one  teaspoonful  of 
salt,  one  and  one-half  teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder,  about  one  quart  of  milk,  enough  to 
make  a  stiff  batter.    Bake  three  and  one-half  hours. 

WHITE  BREAD. 

Four  quarts  of  flour;  take  an  equal  quantity  of  milk  and  water,  enough  to  make  a 
batter ;  take  a  little  sugar,  salt  and  butter,  stir  with  a  bread- mixer  or  a  spoon  for  ten 
minutes.  Raise  five  hours  in  a  bread-raiser.  Bake  two  hours  with  a  high  wick,  or  four 
hours  with  the  lamp  low. 

Bake  white  biscuits  one  hour  and  a  quarter. 

GRAHAM  BREAD. 

Two  quarts  of  Graham  flour,  one  quart  of  white  flour ;  one-half  milk  and  one-half  water 
to  make  a  batter  ;  one-half  cup  of  molasses,  a  little  salt ;  stir  the  same  as  the  white  bread. 
Raise  five  hours  in  bread-raiser  and  bake  two  hours,  wick  high.    Biscuits  one  hour, 

CORN  BREAD. 

One  cup  of  white  meal,  one  cup  of  flour,  one  and  one-half  cups  of  milk,  two  table- 
spoonfuls  of  sugar,  one  tablespoonful  of  melted  butter,  a  little  salt.  Mix  and  pour  in  a  pan, 
having  the  mixture  about  one  inch  thick.    Bake  one  hour. 


78  THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 

THIN  INDIAN  CAXE. 

One  cup  of  Indian  meal ;  hot  water  to  make  it  stiff  enough  to  spread  ;  one  teaspoonful 
of  sugar  and  a  little  butter  and  salt.     Spread  very  thin  on  tins  and  bake  one  hour. 

HOMINY. 

One  cup  of  the  coarsest  hominy,  two  quarts  of  water  ;  put  the  hominy  in  a  pot,  pour  the 
water  in  and  season  with  a  little  salt.     Cover  and  cook  five  hours.    Low  wick. 

COFFEE. 

Soak  a  cup  of  coffee  over  night  in  a  quart  of  water.  In  the  morning  set  in  the  oven  on 
the  bottom  shelf  and  heat  it  twenty  minutes.  Strain  or  clear  with  white  of  an  egg  before 
heating. 

POULTET   AND   BIRDS.      ALADDIN    FASHION.      CHICKENS. 

Out  up  the  chickens  as  if  for  fricassee.  Lay  slices  of  cold  toasted  bread  in  the  bottom 
of  the  baking  pan.  Place  the  chicken  upon  that,  fill  up  the  interstices  with  sausages,  sliced 
apples  and  potatoes  cut  into  halves  lengthwise,  then  sprinkle  with  bread  crumbs.  Put  some 
pats  of  butter  with  the  bread  crumbs.    Bake  about  three  hours. 

In  place  of  the  cold  toast  use  coarse  hominy  samp,  which  has  been  cooked  all  night 
slowly,  with  canned  tomato  or  tomato  sauce;  or  put  rice  upon  the  bottom  of  a  pan  pre- 
viously soaked  so  as  to  have  become  soft,  and  use  any  seasoning  you  like,  either  curry  powder, 
or  celery  salt,  or  canned  mushrooms,  or  tomato  catsup.  Fowls  may  be  dealt  with  in  the  same 
way,  but  should  have  been  previously  cooked  so  as  to  have  become  tender;  time,  according  to 
their  size.     Cook  in  tight  boxes  and  use  juices  to  soften  the  hominy  or  the  rice,  making  a  gravy. 

Another  way:  Cut  chickens  into  small  pieces,  making  cream  sauce  of  one  pint  of  milk,  a 
piece  of  butter  the  size  of  a  small  egg,  a  tablespoonful  of  flour  and  a  little  salt.  Put  together 
into  a  crockery  jar  with  cover  and  bake  three  hours;  fowls,  cook  five  hours.  Vary  by  adding 
celery  seed,  celery  salt,  mushrooms,  or  other  flavoring. 

POTTED   CHICKEN,    GROUSE,    OR   OTHER   BIRDS. 

Cut  up  into  small  pieces  if  the  birds  are  large,  otherwise  cook  birds  whole,  in  a  brown 
sauce  made  with  a  little  onion,  salt  and  pepper  and  a  little  brown  flour  and  some  water.  Put 
all  into  a  jar  and  cook  slowly  until  very  tender.  When  preparing  the  chicken  it  is  better  to 
saute  or  fry  it  in  a  pan  to  a  light  brown  before  putting  into  the  jar.  Another  way  is  to 
cut  off  the  wings  and  legs,  make  sauce,  and  cook  in  a  jar;  then  roast  the  rest  of  the  bird, 
rare  or  well  done  at  will;  serve  together.  The  wings  and  legs  of  ducks  and  grouse  which 
are  apt  to  be  wasted  when  the  birds  have  been  roasted  whole,  may  be  potted  with  the 
remainder  of  the  carcass.  When  the  meat  used  in  potting  has  been  previously  cooked,  the 
preparation  should  be  cooked  in  the  jar  from  two  hours  to  two  and  one-half  hours;  when 
■cooked  raw,  four  hours. 

~    Many  persons  will  be  surprised  with  the  results  that  can  be  attained  with  almost 
any  kind  of  meat  in  dealing  with  it  by  methods  corresponding  to  the  above. 


THE    SCIENCE   OF    NUTRITION.  79 


PIE  CRUST  FOR  FOUR  TEN-INCH  PIES. 


Take  one  quart  of  flour,  one  cup  and  a  half  either  of  butter, — or  half  butter  and  half 
lard, — or  three-quarters  butter  and  one-quarter  lard;  combine  the  dry  flour  with  this  material 
as  thoroughly  as  possible  ;  then  moisten  with  a  very  little  water;  then  spread  in  a  sheet  about 
one  inch  thick,  ten  to  twelve  inches  wide. 

Upon  the  surface  of  this  sheet  spread  a  half  cup  of  the  butter,  or  of  the  butter  and  lard; 
oo  the  surface  dust  flour  from  a  dredging  box,  and  roll  into  a  roll  of  about  four  inches  diam- 
eter; then  cut  this  roll  cross  way  into  eight  pieces — four  tops  and  four  bottoms;  turn  these 
pieces  upon  their  sides,  and  then  roll  each  out  to  the  size  and  shape  of  the  plate. 

The  whole  secret  of  making  flaky  pie  crust  consists  in  turning  these  sections  of  the  roll 
upon  their  sides  so  that  the  rolling  will  be  across  the  section.  An  examination  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  dough  when  thus  rolled,  will  show  why  the  crust  bakes  in  a  flaky  condition. 


BOILED    DISH. 


Cabbage  and  Sausage. — Complete  success  has  been  attained  in  cooking 
corned  beef,  salt  pork,  turnips,  beets,  and  cabbage,  and  also  in  cooking  cabbage  and 
sausage,  a  very  popular  French  dish  under  the  name  of  saucisse  aux  choux,  in 
tight  tin  vessels,  subjected  to  moderate  heat  for  five  hours.  No  perceptible  smell 
was  given  off  in  the  room,  and  the  cabbage  was  cooked  in  a  most  tender  and 
appetizing  manner. 

Liver,  Bacon  and  Cabbage  may  be  cooked  in  the  same  way,  practically 
without  any  smell  to  which  objection  could  be  taken. 

A  very  excellent  preparation  of  liver,  the  cheaper  parts  of  veal,  and  other 
somewhat  tasteless  kinds  of  meat,  is  to  put  them  for  a  day  in  a  hot  summer,  or 
longer  in  winter,  in  a  strong  pickle,  made  with  salt,  saltpetre  and  brown  sugar, 
seasoned  to  taste,  either  with  spice,  peppersauce,  onions  or  any  other  seasoning, 
then  cook  with  cabbage  as  above,  either  with  or  without  bacon  or  pork.  This 
makes  about  as  strong  a  food  for  the  least  proportionate  amount  of  money  that  can 
be  devised.     Not  suitable  for  people  in  very  sedentary  occupations. 

PRESERVING  FRUIT  WITH  AND  WITHOUT  SUGAR. 

During  the  present  summer  (1891)  I  have  tried  some  experiments  in  saving 
summer  fruits,  the  results  of  which  may  not  be  fully  decided  before  the  first  edition 
of  this  treatise  is  issued. 

I  have  dealt  with  Cherries,  Strawberries,  Gooseberries,  Currants,  Blueberries 
and  Pineapple. 


80  XHE  SCIEN'CE   OF  ifUTRIIIOK. 

Method. — I  haye  two  square  tinned  copper  vessels,  each  of  half  the  size  of  the 
oven,  with  handles  at  the  front  and  sides  for  easy  handling. 

One  is  placed  upon  the  close  bottom  shelf — not  directly  upon  the  bottom  of  the 
oven.     The  other  is  placed  upon  the  middle  shelf. 

Into  each  pour  cold  water  about  one  inch  deep. 

In  glass  jars  of  any  suitable  kind  place  the  fruit — cherries  or  currants  stemmed, 
gooseberries,  strawberries  and  blueberries  carefully  picked.  To  the  gooseberries  I 
added  a  large  quantity  of  sugar,  to  the  strawberries  and  cherries  a  very  little,  to  the 
currants  and  blueberries  none.  I  filled  up  even  with  cold  water ;  placed  in  the 
tinned  copper  vessels,  with  covers  on  loosely ;  placed  them  in  the  oven,  cooked  all 
night  with  a  duplex  burner,  each  wick  one  and  one-half  inches  wide.  The  heat  did 
not  reach  the  boiling  point,  but  was  at  about  200°  F.  in  the  morning,  with  the  lamp 
still  burning.  Gooseberries  overcooked  and  shrivelled,  bufc  the  syrup  very  finCo 
The  fruit  had  all  shrunk  a  little.  I  filled  each  ;'ar  even  full  with  water  just  off  the 
boiling  point  and  closed  at  once,  placing  the  jars  again  in  the  hot  water  in  the  pans 
and  cooling  off  gradually  without  cracking  a  single  ^lass  jar. 

The  pineapple  was  peeled  and  cut  into  small  pieces,  which  I  forced  into  open 
jars  of  tumbler  shape  with  a  marble  pestle,  without  sugar.  The  skins  and  butts 
were  placed  in  a  tureen  with  some  water.  The  fruit  in  the  jars  cooked  q}\  night  in 
one  oven  in  the  manner  previously  described.  The  juice  extracted  from  the  skins 
and  butts  having  been  strained  was  reheated  to  the  boiling  point,  and  the  jars  filled 
even  with  this  liquid  and  then  closed. 

In  each  case  the  specific  flavor  of  the  fruit  seems  to  be  developed  to  the  very 
highest  point.  At  this  date  the  cherries  have  been  consumed,  cind  all  the  other 
varieties  seem  to  be  in  sound  condition  and  likely  to  keep  indefinitely. 

The  same  processes  applied  to  meats  and  soup  stock  did  not  prove  a  success.  I 
succeeded,  however,  perfectly  in  cooking  tough  meat  and  converting  ib  into  a  most 
tender  condition  in  the  glass  jars,  but  it  did  not  keep  after  sealing. 

If  this  method  of  saving  summer  fruit  without  sugar  should  prove  a  success  it 
may  be  applied  in  the  tropics  to  some  kinds  of  fruit  that  are  very  perishable  and 
cannot  be  transported  in  their  natural  condition. 

The  surest  course  seems  to  be  to  ripen  the  fruit  and  develop  the  flavor  by 
subjecting  it  to  a  low  heat,  140°  to  150°  during  the  night,  forcing  it  in  the 
morning  to  about  300°,  and  then  sealing  while  at  that  temperature. 


THE  SCIEKCE   OF   NUTRITION.  81 

FAT   PORK  COOKED. 

A   SUBSTITUTE   FOR   CODLIVER   OIL. 

A  physician,  who  has  been  making  experiments  in  the  use  of  the  Aladdin  oven 
with  a  view  to  nutrition  as  a  method  to  cure  in  disease,  has  called  my  attention  to 
certain  paragraphs  in  Dr.  Thomas  Addis  Emmet's  treatise  upon  gynaecology,  page 
97.     This  paragraph  is  as  follows  : 

''An  excellent  substitute  for  Cod  Liver  Oil,  and  one  often  better  tolerated,  is  fat 
pork  properly  prepared.  I  direct  a  thick  portion  of  a  rib  piece,  free  from  lean,  to 
be  selected  and  allowed  to  remain  in  soak  for  thirty-six  hours  before  being  boiled, 
the  water  being  frequently  changed  to  get  rid  of  the  salt.  It  should  be  boiled 
slowly  and  thoroughly  cooked,  and  while  boiling  the  water  must  be  changed  several 
times  by  pouring  it  off  and  fresh  water,  nearly  boiling,  substituted.  It  is  to  be  eaten 
cold  in  the  form  of  a  sandwich  from  stale  bread,  and  both  should  be  cut  as  thin  as 
possible.  It  is  very  nutritious,  but  it  should  be  given  in  small  quantities  until  a 
taste  for  it  has  been  acquired.  It  may  be  made  palatable  by  the  addition  of  a  little 
table  salt.     May  be  rubbed  up  in  a  mortar. 

''I  some  years  ago  saved  the  lives  of  two  of  my  children,  who,  on  different 
occasions,  were  suffering  from  cholera  infantum,  by  feeding  them  entirely  on  the  fat 
of  pork  prepared  in  this  way,  and  while  nothing  else  would  be  retained  on  their 
stomachs,  not  only  was  it  retained  but  it  also  had  a  beneficial  effect  on  the 
diarrhoea." 

I  have  treated  fat  pork  by  washing  out  the  salt  according  to  the  instructions, 
then  cooking  it  very  long  and  very  slowly  in  a  tight  box,  the  pork  resting  upon  a 
drainer.  It  is  reduced  to  the  condition  in  which  it  seems  to  be  exactly  adapted  to 
the  purpose  named  by  Dr.  Emmet,  and  when  re-salted  and  made  into  a  sandwich 
with^wo  slices  of  dry  toast  it  is  indeed  very  appetizing. 

This  substitute  for  codliver  oil  may  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  dealing  with 
patients  who  cannot  overcome  their  repugnance  to  the  oil. 


SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 


EEPORTS. 

Miss  Maria  Daniell,  an  experienced  teacher  of  cooking,  of  Boston,  has  been  es- 
pecially charged  with  the  work  of  developing  methods  of  fire-hour  cooking,  with  a 
view  to  practice  by  those  who  can  give  no  attention  to  the  process  while  absent  or 
occupied  in  other  work.  Miss  Daniell  has  also  computed  twelve  dietaries  for  thirty 
days,  in  due  proportion,  which  have  been  verified  by  Mrs.  Eichards,  and  are 
given  elsewhere. 

KEPORT   OF  MISS   MARIA  DANIELL. 

When  I  was  first  asked  to  undertake  the  work  of  experimenting  with  the  work- 
man's dinner  pail,  and  to  make  up  dishes  that  might  be  cooked  five  hours  without 
detriment,  I  felt  that  my  field  would  be  a  very  small  one,  especially  as  I  must  use 
only  the  very  cheapest  kinds  of  food.  I  accordingly  began  with  shin  and  shoulder  of 
beef,  and  neck  and  flank  of  mutton,  and  by  making  for  the  former  a  nice  brown 
sauce,  using  the  marrow  in  place  of  butter,  and  such  seasoning  as  Worcestershire 
sauce  and  tomato  catsup,  I  succeeded  in  making  a  very  nice  dish,  which  I  placed 
before  the  members  of  my  family  for  breakfast,  and  which  they  pronounced  deli- 
cious. For  the  mutton  I  made  a  white  sauce,  this  time  using  butter  and  only 
pepper  and  salt  as  seasoning,  with  a  small  piece  of  onion.  This,  also,  was  very  much 
liked,  But  now  came  the  question,  would  not  the  people  who  would  be  most  likely 
to  use  the  pail  oven,  think  it  too  much  work  to  make  the  sauces,  and  would  they, 
many  of  them,  have  the  time?  It  was  evident  to  my  mind  that  I  must  try  putting 
the  meat,  flour  and  seasoning,  all  into  the  little  crock  together,  cover  it  with  boil- 
ing water,  and  let  the  sauce  take  care  of  itself.  This  was  so  contrary  to  all  estab- 
lished rules  of  cookery  that  I  did  it  with  some  doubt,  but  I  must  confess  I  was 
surprised  at  the  result.  The  butter  or  dripping  came  to  the  top,  as  is  always  the 
case  in  long  cooking,  but  when  that  was  removed  with  a  spoon,  a  most  appetizing 
dish  was  presented.  In  the  pail  oven  having  the  four  triangular  dishes  and  one 
round  one,  a  whole  dinner  was  cooked,  with  the  most  gratifying  result.     In  one  of 


THE   SCIEKCE  OP  NUTRITION.  83 

the  small  dishes  was  placed  some  split  pease,  which  had  been  soaked  over  night, 
with  just  enough  water  to  make  a  pease  pudding ;  in  a  second,  some  coarse  hominy, 
also  soaked  over  night ;  in  a  third,  some  tomato,  bread  crumbs  and  seasoning,  (scal- 
loped tomato),  and  in  a  fourth,  some  oatmeal  for  dessert.  In  the  round  dish  was 
placed  some  flank  of  mutton,  with  onion,  tomato,  and  a  spoonful  of  Worcestershire 
sauce,  salt  and  pepper,  and  a  little  butter  and  flour  mixed  together  and  mixed 
with  boiling  water ;  then  over  the  whole  was  poured  boiling  water,  enough  to  about 
half  fill  the  tin.  The  pail  oven  had  been  heated  for  about  an  hour.  The  small 
tins  were  placed  at  the  bottom,  and  the  one  with  the  stew  on  top,  and  left  for  about 
three  hours.  Then  the  dishes  were  changed,  the  stew  put  on  the  bottom,  and  the 
little  dishes  on  top,  and  it  was  left  two  hours  longer,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the 
dinner  was  dished.  The  grains  were  well  cooked,  and  the  stew  exceedingly  nice, 
and  pronounced  by  a  rather  fastidious  young  man,  "good  enough  for  anyone." 
After  this  I  tried  every  kind  of  meat  and  fish  that  could  be  bought  at  a  low  price, 
and  was  surprised  to  find  how  many  things  were  within  my  reach.  Besides  shin 
and  shoulder  of  beef,  neck  and  flank  of  mutton,  there  are  such  things  as  calf^s 
heart,  lamb's  heart  and  liver,  calf's  head,  pig's  head  and  feet,  tripe,  beef  skirt,  beet 
flank,  beef  liver,  beef  heart,  salt  fish,  fresh  haddock,  halibut  nape,  and  all  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  grains,  bacon  sausage,  kidneys,  skim  milk  and  cheese;  nearly,  if  not 
all,  of  which  have  been  considered  in  my  thirty  days'  dietaries,  and  recipes  for  the 
cooking  of  which  I  will  now  proceed  to  give.  With  regard  to  the  size  of  pail  oven, 
I  think  the  size  of  the  one  that  I  have  at  my  house,  in  which  the  dinner  I  have 
mentioned  was  cooked,  works  to  better  advantage  than  the  larger  ones. 

I  have  always  cooked  in  it  with  the  same  lamp  that  I  use  with  the  workman's 
dinner  pail ;  and  the  dishes  ought  always  to  be  changed,  when  they  have  been  cook- 
ing about  half  the  time  required  for  the  completion  of  the  work  ;  then  everything 
will  come  out  perfect. 

Note. — These  cylindrical  ovens  have  since  been  somewhat  changed  in  form,  and  are  now  for  sale. 

B.  A. 

In  my  work  with  the  ''Aladdin  Oven,"  I  have  not  confined  myself  to  cheap 
food,  as  the  work  done  in  the  pail  ovens  could  any  of  it  be  as  well-cooked  in 
the  Aladdin.  So  I  have  proved  the  oven  with  the  more  expensive  foods,  such 
as  fillet  of  beef,  roast  and  braised  chicken,  soups  and  stews  of  all  kinds,  puddings 
and  cake,  and  in  every  case  the  result  has  been  simply  perfect.  I  have  never  before 
been  able  to  bake  cake  or  bread  in  such  perfection  as  I  do  now  in  the  Aladdin  Oven, 
and  with  such  perfect  confidence  as  to  the  result ;  indeed,  I  feel  that  I  cannot  say 
enough  in  its  praise,  and  I  would  not  part  with  the  one  I  have,  if  I  could  help  it, 
for  more  than  twice  its  cost. 


84  THE   SCIEISrCE    OF   NUTRITION-. 

The  tough  pieces  of  meat  are  rendered  tender  and  delicious  by  the  slow  cooking, 
and  soup  made  in  the  oven  is  superior  to  any  I  have  ever  tasted. 

I  also  value,  very  highly,  the  Stanyan  Bread  Kneader,  and  the  Case  Bread  Eaiser. 
I  think  they  should  be  included  in  the  furnishings  of  every  kitchen. 

I  prefer  heavy  tin  dishes  for  box  cooking  of  meats  and  soups  in  the  Aladdin 
Oven,  as  the  stoneware  is  apt  to  become  crackled  and  absorbs  the  fat,  and,  after  a 
time,  becomes  rancid. 

For  the  pail  oven  I  like  the  agate  ware  best,  though  the  heavy  yellow  stoneware, 
being  cheaper,  does  very  well,  is  much  better  than  the  brown  ware,  which  I  found 
too  thin  and  apt  to  burn  on  the  bottom. 

Bread,  kneaded  fifteen  minutes  in  the  Stanyan  Bread  Kneader,  raised  three 
hours  in  the  Case  Bread  Eaiser,  then  Just  handled  enough  to  make  into  loaves,  and 
put  back  in  the  Eaiser  for  half  an  hour,  will  be  found  in  the  most  perfect  condition 
to  bake,  having  taken  less  than  four  hours  to  prepare.  One  of  the  best  of  bread 
makers  has  said:  ''The  ideal  bread-pan  should  be  made  four  inches  wide  and  four 
inches  deep,  and  any  length  you  wish — ten  inches  makes  a  very  good-sized  loaf." 

Miss  Parloa  says: 

.    GMDOD  TESTS  OF  OVEN  HEAT  WHEN  BAKING. 

For  sponge  cake  and  pound  cake,  have  heat  that  will  in  five  minutes  turn  a  piece  of  white 
paper  light  yellow. 

For  all  other  kinds  of  cup  cake,  use  an  oven  that  will  in  five  minutes  turn  a  piece  of  white 
paper  dark  yellow. 

For  bread  and  pastry,  have  an  oven  that  will  in  five  minutes  turn  a  piece  of  paper  dark 
brown. 

I  think  there  should  be  an  oil  stove,  with  at  least  two  covers,  for  heating  water 
and  doing  such  things  as  cannot  well  be  done  in  the  oven.  Such  a  stove  can  be 
procured  at  the  Central  Oil  Stove  Company,  78  Washington  street,  Boston,  for  about 
six  dollars. 

For  the  work  of  a  large  family,  I  would  prefer  a  large  oil  stove  made  by  the 
Smith  &  Anthony  Stove  Company,  on  Union  street,  Boston. 

With  regard  to  time  of  cooking  in  the  Aladdin  Oven,  I  allow  about  one-third 
longer  than  in  the  oven  of  the  coal  stove. 

It  requires  fully  two  weeks  of  constant  use  to  get  the  oven  seasoned;  then  this 
list  can  be  relied  upon,  we  think,  as  to  time: 

I  find  the  time  given  in  Mrs.  Sterling's  letter  agrees  so  well  with  my  own  ex- 
periments for  the  cooking  of  the  various  dishes  that  I  have  had  it  copied  and  added 
to  these  papers. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 


Roast  Beef  (over  8  lbs.),             ..... 

25  minutes  to  lb 

"        "    (under  8  lbs.),          ..... 

20 

n            ^^ 

Hindquarter  Spring  Lamb,         ..... 

2X  hours. 

Smothered  Chicken,        ...... 

3 

(t 

Roast  Chicken,     ....... 

3K 

« 

Chicken  Pot-Pie,             .           .           . 

3 

(( 

Irish  Stew  (breast  and  shoulder),          .... 

3 

<i 

Cauliflower  (put  in  boiling  water),        .... 

IK 

(( 

Asparagus,           ....... 

IX 

(( 

Sliced  raw  Potatoes  stewed  in  Milk,       .... 

3>^ 

(( 

(Seasoned,  when  put  in,  with  salt,  pepper  and  butter,  very 

nice.) 

Baked  Apples,     ....... 

3 

(( 

Stewed  Prunes,  ....... 

3 

« 

Graham  Bread  (8  in.  x  d}i  in.),             .... 

4^ 

(( 

White  Bread,                  ...... 

3X 

<( 

Layer  Cake,         ....... 

1 

i( 

Corn  Meal  Muffins,         ...... 

i/^ 

<( 

MISS  DANIELL'S  EECIPES. 

BEEF,  OATMEAL  AND  TOMATO, 

1.  Cut  one  pound  of  shin  of  beef  into  small  pieces.  Season  with  pepper  and  salt.  Cut 
up  two  sausages  into  inch  pieces,  roll  in  flour  and  put  into  an  earthen  dish.  Add  one  cupful 
of  canned  tomato,  one-third  cupful  of  oatmeal  and  one  teaspoonful  Worcestershire  sauce, 
aud  cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail.  Cost,  1 1  cents.  Weight,  with  water  added,  two  and 
one-fourth  pounds.* 

pigs'  FEET  A  LA  VINAIGRETTE. 

3.  Cut  up  one  pound  of  pickled  pigs'  feet  in  small  pieces.  Put  into  an  earthen  dish.  Pour 
over  them  one  and  one-half  cupfuls  of  boiling  water.  Mix  one  tablespoonful  of  butter  with 
one  large  tablespoonful  of  flour  and  add  to  the  water.  Salt  and  pepper  to  taste,  and  add 
one  teaspoonful  of  Worcestershire  sauce.    Cook  two  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail. 

TRIPE   A   LA  VINAIGRETTE. 

3.  Take  one  pound  of  pickled  tripe,  cut  into  small  pieces.  Put  it  into  earthen  dish.  Mix 
one  tablespoonful  of  butter  with  one  tablespoonful  of  flour  and  add  one  cupful  of  boiling 
water,  one  teaspoonful  of  Worcestershire  sauce,  and  salt  and  pepper  to  taste.  Pour  this 
over  the  tripe  and  cook  two  hours  in  the  Aladdin  Pail. 

TRIPE  A  LA  CREME. 

4.  One  pound  of  fresh  tripe  cut  into  small  pieces.  Sprinkle  over  it  pepper  and  salt. 
Mix  one  tablespoonful  of  flour,  one  tablespoonful  of  butter,  a  small  slice  of  onion  and  one 

*  All  these  preparations  may  be  cooked  in  covered  boxes  or  dishes  ia  the  standard  Aladdin  Oven,  as  well  as 
in  the  pail  or  cylinder  oven.  E.  A. 


86  THE   SCIEIfCE   OF   NUTRITION. 

cupful  of  milk.    Pour  this  over  the  tripe.    Taste  to  see  if  salt  enough,  and  cook  two  hours 
in  Aladdin  Pail. 

BEEF   STEW. 

5.  Cut  one  pound  of  shin  of  beef  into  small  pieces.  Pepper,  salt  and  dredge  thickly 
with  flour.  Add  one  small  onion  cut  into  slices,  three  or  four  slices  of  carrot,  and  the  same 
of  turnip.  One  teaspoonful  of  "Worcestershire  sauce,  one  tablespoonful  of  tomato  catsup. 
Cover  with  boiling  water  and  cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail. 

BEEF  BOLL. 

6.  Take  ten  ounces  of  lean  beef  from  shoulder  or  shin.  Take  two  ounces  of  sausage  meat 
and  mix  with  an  equal  quantity  of  stale  bread  crumbs.  Cut  the  meat  into  slices  one  half  inch 
thick  and  spread  with  the  sausage.  Koll  up  and  tie  firmly.  Salt,  pepper  and  dredge  thickly 
with  flour.  Put  into  an  earthen  dish  with  one  small  slice  of  onion,  one-half  teaspoonful  of 
Worcestershire  sauce  and  two  teaspoonfuls  of  tomato  catsup.  Cover  with  boiling  water  and 
cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail.     Cost,  10  cents.     Weight,  one  and  one-fourth  pounds. 

BEEF  BOLL,  NO.  2. 

Take  ten  ounces  of  lean  beef  from  shoulder  or  shin.  Take  two  ounces  of  sausage  meat 
with  an  equal  amount  of  stale  bread  crumbs.  Cut  meat  into  slices  one-balf  inch  thick.  Mix 
crumbs  and  sausage  meat  and  spread  on  the  beef.  Koll  up  and  tie  firmly.  Try  out  two 
ounces  of  fat  salt  pork  and  brown  the  meat  in  it.  Take  from  the  fat  and  place  in  earthen  dish. 
Add  to  the  fat  one  tablespoonful  of  flour,  and  brown  ;  then  add  one-half  pint  of  boiling  water. 
Boil  five  minutes.  Season  with  one-half  teaspoonful  of  salt,  one-half  teaspoonful  of  Worcester- 
shire sauce  and  two  teaspoonfuls  of  tomato  catsup.  Pour  over  the  meat  and  cook  five  hours 
in  Aladdin  Pail.    Cost,  10  cents.    Weight,  one  pound  and  six  ounces. 

BEEF  A  LA  MODE. 

7.  Take  one  pound  of  the  shoulder  of  beef  and  two  slices  of  bacon.  Salt,  pepper  and  flour 
the  meat.  Put  in  earthen  dish  and  add  three  whole  cloves,  one-half  dozen  whole  allspice, 
one  slice  of  onion,  one  teaspoonful  of  powdered  thyme,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  vinegar  and 
one-half  pint  of  hot  water.  If  liked  turnips  and  carrots  may  be  added.  Cook  five  hours  in 
Aladdin  Pail. 

BEEF   SKIBT   STEAK. 

8.  Take  one  pound  of  beef  skirt.  Pepper,  salt  and  dredge  with  flour.  Put  in  earthen 
dish,  and  add  just  enough  water  to  partly  cover.  Mix  one  teaspoonful  of  butter  with  one 
teaspoonful  of  flour  and  add  to  water.    Cook  two  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail. 

STEWED  SAUSAGE  WITH  POTATO. 

9.  Put  into  earthen  dish  one-half  pound  of  sausage  cut  in  pieces,  with  one  pound  of  pota- 
toes cut  in  thick  pieces,  peppered  and  salted,  one  slice  of  onion,  one  teaspoonful  of  flour 
mixed  with  a  little  water.  -Cover  with  one-half  pint  of  hot  water  and  cook  two  hours  in 
Aladdin  Pail. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION.  87 

STEAK  PUDDING. 

10.  One  cupful  of  flour,  one-fourth  pound  of  suet  chopped  fine,  one-fourth  teaspoonful  of 
salt,  and  cold  water  to  make  stiff  as  for  pie  crust.  Roll  out  one-half  inch  thick.  Have  one 
pound  of  beef  or  mutton  from  shin  or  neck,  well  seasoned  with  pepper  and  salt.  Put  in 
earthen  dish  with  one  cupful  of  water.    Cover  with  paste  and  cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail. 

A  SHEEP  OR  calf's  HEART. 

11.  Stuff  with  sausage  and  bread  crumbs.  Season  with  salt  and  pepper  and  dredge  with 
flour.  Put  it  into  earthen  dish  and  add  one  tablespoonf  ul  of  tomato  catsup  and  one  small 
slice  of  onion.  Cover  with  boiling  water  and  cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail.  Cost,  16  cents. 
Weight,  one  and  one-half  pounds. 

FRESH  HADDOCK  IN  TOMATO. 

12.  Take  one  pound  of  Haddock,  salt,  pepper  and  flour  it  well.  Put  it  into  earthen  dish, 
and  add  one  small  slice  of  onion.  Cover  with  strained  tomato  and  cook  two  hours  in 
Aladdin  Pail. 

SALT   CODFISH  IN  MILK. 

13.  Take  one-half  pound  of  salt  fish,  after  soaking  over  night  in  water,  put  it  into  earthen 
dish  and  cover  with  milk.  Add  two  tablespoonfuls  of  wheat  germ  meal  and  cook  five  hours 
in  Aladdin  Pail.    Cost,  6  cents.    "Weight,  three-fourths  pound. 

MUTTON  AND  TOMATO. 

14.  Cut  up  one  pound  of  neck  of  mutton  into  small  pieces.  Salt  and  pepper  and  dredge 
thickly  with  flour.  Put  this  into  earthen  dish  and  cover  with  strained  tomato.  Add  one 
tablespoonf  ul  of  butter,  one  teaspoonful  of  Worcestershire  sauce  and  a  small  piece  of  onion, 
and  cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail.     Cost,  17  cents.    Weight,  two  pounds. 

MUTTON   STEW. 

15.  Cut  up  one  pound  of  flank  of  mutton  into  small  pieces.  Season  with  pepper  and  salt 
and  put  into  earthen  dish.  Add  one  small  onion  cut  into  slices,  three  or  four  slices  of  carrot 
and  the  same  of  turnip.  Mix  one  tablespoonf  ul  of  butter  with  two  tablespoonfuls  of  fl:)ur. 
Mix  with  warm  water  and  pour  over  meat.  Cover  with  boiling  water,  add  salt  to  taste,  and 
cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail.    Cost,  14  cents.    Weight,  two  pounds. 

STEWED  BEANS  WITH  CORNED  SHOULDER  OF  PORK. 

16.  Soak,  over  night,  two-thirds  of  a  cupful  of  small  white  beans.  Put  one-half  pound  of 
corned  shoulder  into  earthen  dish,  add  the  soaked  beans,  one  small  slice  of  onion  and 
a  pinch  of  pepper.     Cover  with  water  and  cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail. 

PEASE  PUDDING. 

17.  Soak  one-half  pint  of  split  pease  over  night.  Put  into  earthen  dish.  Cover  with  hot 
water.  Add  one  teaspoonful  of  butter,  one-half  teaspoonful  of  salt,  and  cook  five  hours  in 
Aladdin  Pall. 


88  THE   SCIESrCE    OF   N-UTRITION". 

INDIAN  PUDDING. 

18.  Scald  one  pint  of  skimmed  milk  and  stir  into  it,  while  hot,  one-half  cupful  of  Indian 
meal.  Add  one-half  cupful  of  molasses,  one-half  teaspoonful  of  salt  and  one-half  teaspoonful 
of  ginger  or  cinnamon.  Put  in  earthen  dish  and  add  one-half  cupful  of  cold  milk,  but  do 
not  stir.    Cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail.    Butter  the  dish  before  turning  in  the  pudding. 

PLUM  PUDDING   WITHOUT   EGGS, 

19.  Batter  earthen  dish.  Take  one-fourth  cupful  of  bread  crumbs,  one-half  cupful  of 
flour,  one-fourth  cupful  of  suet  (chopped  fine),  one- fourth  cupful  of  raisins,  one- fourth  cupful 
of  molasses,  one-fourth  cupful  of  sweet  milk,  one-half  teaspoonful  of  soda,  one-fourth  tea- 
spoonful of  salt,  one-fourth  teaspoonful  of  cloves  and  one-fourth  teaspoonful  of  cinnamon. 
Cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail. 

BROWN  FRICASSEE  OF  BEEF. 

20.  Out  one  pound  shin  of  beef  into  small  pieces.  Dredge  with  flour,  season  with  salt  and 
pepper,  and  brown  in  two  ounces  of  fat  salt  pork.  Remove  and  add  to  the  fat  two  table- 
spoonfuls  of  flour,  and  brown.  Add  one  pint  of  boiling  water,  one  tablespoonf  ul  of  Worces- 
tershire sauce,  one  tablespoonful  of  tomato  catsup  and  one  small  slice  of  onion.  Pour  over 
the  meat  which  has  been  placed  in  an  earthen  dish,  and  cook  five  hours  in  Aladdin  Pail.  Cost, 
11  cents.    Weight,  two  pounds  two  ounces,  when  ready  to  cook. 

HADDOCK   IN   TOMATO   SAUCE. 

21.  Melt  one  tablespoonful  of  butter  in  a  saucepan.  Brown  in  it  one  tablespoonful  of 
flour.  Add,  gradually,  one-half  pint  of  cooked  strained  tomato.  Cook  five  minutes.  Add 
one  teaspoonful  of  salt,  one-half  saltspoonful  of  pepper  and  one  small  slice  of  onion.  Add 
one  pound  of  haddock  and  cook  two  hoars  in  Aladdin  Pail.  Cost,  15  cents.  Weight,  one  and 
one-half  pounds. 

THANKSGIVING  PLUM  PUDDING. 

23.  Boil  one  pound  of  raisins  in  two  quarts  of  milk.  Take  out  the  raisins  and  add  to  the 
boiled  milk  ten  eggs  well  beaten,  considerable  sugar,  and  a  little  salt.  Season  with  spices 
or  vanilla.  Cut  a  stale  brick-loaf  of  baker's  bread  into  thin  slices,  butter  and  soak  them 
in  the  custard.  Butter  a  deep  pudding  pan  and  put  in  alternate  layers  of  the  soaked  bread 
and  the  raisins  till  the  pan  is  full.  Let  this  stand  over  night  and  in  the  morning  fill  up  with 
milk.    Bake  two  and  one-half  hours  in  a  slow  oven.    Eat  with  cold  sauce. 

OATMEAL  PUDDING. 

23.  One  and  one-half  cupfuls  of  cold-boiled  oatmeal.  Add  one  cupful  of  sliced  apples, 
or  one-half  cupful  of  seedless  raisins,  and  one-half  teaspoonful  of  salt.  Cook  five  hours 
in  Aladdin  Pail  and  eat  with  sugar  and  milk,  or  butter,  for  sauce. 

In  cooking  the  grains  I  used  a  little  less  water  than  is  needed  when  they  are 
cooked  at  a  higher  degree  of  heat,  as  the  evaporation  is  less  in  the  pail  oven.  To 
all  grains,  except  hominy,  I  allow  three  times  their  bulk  of  water.  To  hominy,  fine 
or  coarse,  twice  its  bulk  of  water. 


THE   SCIENCE  OF   NUTRITION.  89 

BKEAD. 

One  pint  of  milk  and  one  pint  of  water  (lukewarm),  with  two  tablespoonfuls  of  butter  or 
dripping  melted  in  it.  One  yeast  cake  dissolved  in  part  of  this  wetting,  and  flour  to  make  a 
soft  dough,  with  one  tablespoonful  of  salt  sifted  into  it  before  adding  it  to  the  wetting. 

It  will  take  about  two  and  one-half  quarts  of  the  best  flour.  Knead  the  dough  half  an 
hour  by  hand,  or  fifteen  minutes  with  Stanyan  Kneader,  and  raise  three  hours  in  Case  Bread 
Raiser.  Make  into  loaves,  let  rise  again  about  one-half  hour,  and  bake  in  Aladdin  Oven  one 
and  one-half  hours.  The  time  given  is  for  loaves  baked  in  pans  four  inches  wide,  four  inches 
deep  and  ten  inches  long. 

TO  MAKE  STOCK. 

Six  pounds  of  lean  beef  from  the  leg,  or  a  knuckle  of  veal  and  beef  to  make  six  pounds. 
Cut  this  in  pieces  two  inches  square  or  less  ;  do  the  same  with  half  a  pound  of  lean  ham,  free 
from  rind  or  smoky  outside,  and  which  has  been  scalded  five  minutes. 

Put  the  meat  into  a  two-gallon  pot  with  three  medium-sized  onions,  with  two  cloves  in 
each,  a  turnip,  a  carrot  and  a  small  head  of  celery.  Pour  over  them  five  quarts  of  cold 
water,  let  it  come  slowly  to  the  boiling  point,  when  skim,  and  draw  to  a  spot  wh'ere  it  will 
gently  simmer  for  six  hours.  This  stock  as  it  is  will  be  an  excellent  foundation  for  all  kinds 
of  clear  soups  or  gravies,  with  the  addition  of  salt,  which  must  on  no  account  be  added 
for  glaze. — (From  Catherine  Owen's  Choice  Cookery.) 

GLAZE. 

To  reduce  this  stock  to  glaze  do  as  follows  :  Strain  the  stock  first  through  a  colander, 
and  return  meat  and  vegetables  to  the  pot ;  put  to  them  four  quarts  of  hot  water  and  let  it 
boil  four  hours  longer. 

The  importance  of  this  second  boiling,  which  may  at  first  sight  appear  useless  economy, 
will  be  seen  if  you  let  the  two  stocks  get  cold  ;  the  first  will  be  of  delightful  flavor,  but  prob- 
ably quite  liquid  ;  the  last  will  be  flavorless,  but  if  the  boiling  process  has  been  slow  enough 
it  will  be  a  jelly,  the  second  boiling  having  been  necessary  to  extract  the  gelatine  from  the 
bones,  which  is  indispensable  for  the  formation  of  glaze. 

Strain  both  these  stocks  through  a  scalded  cloth.  (If  they  have  been  allowed  to  get  cool, 
heat  them  in  order  to  strain.)  •  Put  both  stocks  together  into  one  large  pot,  and  let  it  boil  as 
fast  as  possible,  with  the  cover  off,  leaving  a  large  spoon  in  it  to  prevent  it  boiling  over,  also 
to  stir  occasionally  ;  when  it  is  reduced  to  three  pints  put  it  into  a  small  saucepan,  and  let  it 
boil  more  slowly.  Stir  frequently  with  a  wooden  spoon  until  it  begins  to  thicken  and  has  a 
fine  yellowish  brown  color,  which  will  be  when  it  is  reduced  to  a  quart  or  rather  less.  At 
this  point  watch  closely,  as  it  quickly  burns.  "When  there  is  only  a  pint  and  a  half  it  will  be 
fit  to  pour  into  small  cups  or  jars.  It  must  not  be  covered  until  all  moisture  has  evaporated 
and  the  glaze  shrinks  from  the  sides  of  the  jar.     This  may  take  a  month. 

Of  course  any  strong  meat  and  bone  soup  can  be  boiled  down  in  the  same  way,  and  where 
there  is  meat  on  hand  in  danger  of  spoiling,  from  sudden  change  of  weather,  it  can  be  turned 
into  glaze,  and  kept  indefinitely.  I  have  found  glaze  five  years  old  as  good  as  the  first  week, 
— (From  Catherine  Owen's  Choice  Cookery.) 


90  THE   SCIEKCE    OF   NUTRITION". 

BEEF  A   LA  MODE, 

Take  three  pounds  of  fresh  beef,  trim  off  the  fat ;  cut  half  a  pound  of  bacon  into  long, 
slender  strips,  and  lard  the  beef  with  it.  Mix  a  few  cloves,  mace,  allspice,  peppers,  cayenne, 
a  tablespoonf ul  of  powdered  thyme  and  two  cloves  of  garlic,  with  half  a  pint  of  malt  vinegar. 
Put  the  meat  into  an  earthen  crock,  with  a  thin  slice  of  bacon  under  it,  add  the  seasoning 
and  a  pint  of  soup  stock,  cover  the  crock,  and  simmer  six  hours.  When  preferred,  vegeta- 
bles may  be  added,  but  it  is  more  satisfactory  to  cook  them  separately. — (From  Thomas  J. 
Murrey's  Book  of  Entrees.) 

CONSOMME  OF  FRESH  VEGETABLE  ROOTS. 

Out  in  slices  two  and  one -fourth  pounds  of  carrots  and  the  same  weight  of  onions  ;  put 
them  in  a  stewpan  with  some  parsley,  thyme,  shalot  and  celery,  and  also  one  pound  two 
ounces  of  butter.  Try  gently  to  a  red  color,  add  eight  and  three-fourths  pints  of  water,  let 
it  boil  and  skim  it ;  next  put  into  it  a  pint  and  three-quarters  of  pease  and  a  couple  of  let- 
tuces ;  then  add  one  and  one-fourth  oances  of  salt,  one-third  ounce  of  whole  pepper,  one 
pinch  of  nutmeg,  three  cloves,  one  and  three  fourths  pints  of  dried  pease,  one  and  three-fourths 
pints  of  white  haricots.  Let  it  simmer  for  three  hours  in  the  Aladdin  Oven,  skim  off  the 
grease  and  strain  through  a  cloth  ;  then  put  aside  for  use.— (Extract  from  Sir  Henry  Thomp- 
son's Food  aud  Feeding.) 


BOX   on    PAIL    COOKING,    OR   COOKING   IN   JARS. 

In  the  course  of  my  experiments  in  perfecting  the  workman's  pail,  it  has  become  necessary  to 
adjust  the  materials  and  methods  to  a  process  of  treatment  that  may  be  completed  in  less  than  five 
hours,  but  which  may  also  cover  five  hours  or  more  without  injury  to  the  food.  It  is  assumed  that 
a  workman  may  charge  his  pail  when  lie  leaves  home,  reach  his  work  at  7  a.  m.,  when  he  lights 
the  lamp,  at  12  in.  he  is  to  find  his  dinner  ready;  or  a  woman  leaves  her  room  at  8  a.  m.,  return- 
ing at  12  m.  to  find  her  dinner  ready. 

Nearly  all  the  foregoing  recipes  have  been  dealt  with  in  this  way  in  my  office  dining- 
room,  with  most  acceptable  and  appetizing  results.  Many  of  the  members  of  the  Office 
Lunch  Club  give  a  great  preference  to  the  box  or  pail  cooking  in  closed  vessels,  as  com- 
pared to  the  same  food  cooked  in  02ien  vessels  in  the  oven. 

Ill  place  of  the  pail  or  bucket,  the  Asbestos  Paper  Co.  will  soon  put  a  small  portable 
oven  on  the  market.  E.  A. 


THE   SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION,  •  91 


KEPOET  BY  MRS.  MARY  HINMAN  ABEL, 

Author  of  the  Treatise  on  Cooking,  for  which  the  Lomb  prize  of  $500  was  awarded 
by  the  American  Public  Health  Association  in  1888.     Published  by  the  association. 

THE  ALADDIN  OVEN  FOR  FAMILY  COOKING. 

The  writer  has  for  six  months  made  use  of  an  Aladdin  Oven  as  an  adjunct  to  a  gas 
stove  in  her  kitchen  ;  has  done  with  it  all  the  baking  and  at  least  three-quarters  of  the  other 
cooking  for  the  family,  the  gas  stove  being  used  chiefly  for  roasting,  broiling  and  frying,  and 
where  speedy  boiling  of  water  was  necessary,  as  for  tea  and  coffee. 

JkS  the  result  of  this  experience,  the  following  directions  and  suggestions  are  offered  for 
The  use  of  those  who  wish  to  make  trial  of  the  oven. 

If  we  are  interested  in  the  advance  of  this  neglected  art  of  cookery,  we  shall  welcome 
an  invention  constructed  on  scientific  principles  and  calling  attention  to  methods  of  applying 
hoat  or  the  conversion  of  food  materials  into  food  for  the  stomach.  We  cannot  agree  with 
the  inventor  of  the  oven  that  any  method  of  applying  heat  will  ever  make  cookery  "auto- 
matic," but  we  must  own  that  this  part  of  the  process  has  received  far  too  little  attention, 
the  art  of  cookery  having  been  held  to  be  too  nearly  synonymous  with  the  art  of  mixing. 

The  real  acceptability  of  the  oven  in  the  average  kitchen  is  only  to  be  settled  by  trial. 
It  seems  to  have  some  drawbacks,  as  the  smallness  of  the  space  on  which  actual  boiling  and 
roasting  can  be  done  (that  is  the  oven  bottom),  as  this  requires  some  planning  for  the  suc- 
cessful cooking  of  an  entire  dinner  without  help  from  another  stove.  But  all  that  is  neces- 
sary is  for  the  person  that  buys  an  oven  to  take  it  as  the  inventor  now  offers  it,  as  an  auxiliary 
to  the  range,  and  then  let  it  make  its  own  way  on  its  merits.*  According  to  the  view  of 
those  interested  in  improvements  in  cooking,  this  invention  ranks  high,  as  it  is  a  distinct 
advance  in  the  requirement  that  heat  should  be  fully  controllable  in  amount,  and  that  we 
should  be  able  to  direct  it  where  it  is  wanted,  and  prevent  it  from  going  where  it  is  not 
wanted.  This  latter  requirement  we  may  say  is  met  by  the  non-conducting  covering  of  the 
stove,  and  to  a  degree  the  controllability  of  the  heat  is  attained;  we  could  say  fully  so  if  the 
cooking  temperature  for  an  oven  full  of  food  or  for  any  given  dish  could  be  more  quickly 
reached.     This  the  inventor  promises  us  by  the  use  of  a  more  powerful  lamp. 

Slow  Cooking. — It  is  for  this  that  the  oven  is  of  the  greatest  value,  and  we  have  by  its 
use  an  opportunity  to  prove  or  disprove  what  has  so  long  been  asserted,  that  a  long  application 
of  heat  at  a  temperature  lower  than  has  been  in  general  use  is  neccessary  to  develop  the  full 
digestibility  and  best  flavor  of  many  kinds  of  food,  as  the  coarsely  ground  grains,  the 
tougher  cuts  of  meat,  fruits,  dried  pease  and  beans,  and  also  of  many  dishes  like  Indian  pud- 
ding, famous  in  the  days  of  the  old  brick  oven,  but  almost  unknown  in  their  best  estate  to 
this  generation.    This  slow  cooking  has  little  chance  of  trial  in  the  ordinary  stove,  although 

*  The  inventor  is  now  making  experiments  on  larger  sizes  and  more  powerful  lamps,  but  he  is  at  present  of 
opinion  that  two  of  the  present  standard  orens  will  be  more  convenient  and  useful  than  one  large  one.      E.  A. 


92  ■  THE  SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION. 

the  oven  of  a  gas  or  gasolene  stove  has  been  used  successfully  by  the  writer  in  this  way,  a  low 
degree  of  heat  being  possible  and  steadily  applied  from  the  sides  as  well  as  the  bottom. 

CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE   OVEN. 

Every  housekeeper  knows  that  a  gas  or  kerosene  stove  has  enough  points  of  difference 
from  the  ordinary  coal  range  so  that  she  must  give  it  a  little  study  before  she  can  be  uniformly 
successful  in  cooking  with  it.  In  the  same  way,  the  Aladdin  Oven  has  some  points  peculiar 
to  itself  which  should  be  carefully  noted  to  begin  with.    Notice  its  construction: 

It  is  a  simple  iron  box,  closed  in  front  by  a  door,  and  having  an  opening  in  the  top  that 
communicates  with  a  tube  to  let  off  any  superfluous  steam.  This  box  is  surrounded  by 
another  whose  top  and  sides  are  made  of  non-conducting  material  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
the  heat.  A  standard,  on  which  this  box  is  set,  and  a  lamp  underneath  completes  the 
apparatus. 

Now  it  is  quite  evident  that  this  oven  is  to  cook  by  heat  that  is  slowly  accumulated  and 
then  held  to  its  work  by  the  non-conducting  character  of  the  oven  walls,  and  it  will  be  of 
first  importance,  therefore,  to  keep  it  closed  as  far  as  possible. 

Second,  we  shall  expect  the  cooking  to  be  done  more  slowly  than  in  the  ordinary  stove, 
at  least  in  the  beginning  of  the  process  and  that  more  time  must  be  allowed  for  any  given  dish. 

Third,  we  shall  doubtless  find  the  bottom  of  the  oven  hotter  than  the  top,  and  the  different 
dishes  of  which  the  meal  is  composed  must  be  arranged  in  the  oven  accordingly.  These 
limitations  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  we  may  know  just  what  we  can  reasonably  expect  of  a 
cooking  apparatus  constructed  as  is  the  Aladdin  Oven. 

The  Lamp. — It  should  be  also  noted  that  the  condition  of  the  lamp  is  of  great  import- 
ance. It  must  burn  evenly  and  to  its  full  height,  unless  purposely  turned  down  for  slow 
cooking.  When  the  lamp  is  new  it  seems  to  take  care  of  itself,  and  these  conditions  are  met 
without  trouble,  but  with  use  the  air  passages,  of  course,  become  clogged  and  the  wick  may 
not  push  up  and  down  easily.  If  then  taken  apart  and  the  working  parts  boiled  in  soda 
it  will  again  be  satisfactory. 

Although  the  lamp  will  burn  for  eight  hours  after  filling,  the  flame  will  decrease  in 
height  after  the  first  few  hours,  and  this,  if  not  noticed,  will  lead  to  disappointment.  We 
have  simply  to  refill  the  lamp. 

Again,  do  not  continue  to  use  a  chimney  that  has  been  broken  at  the  top,  though  the 
break  may  not  seem  to  interfere  with  the  draft.  The  heat  of  the  oven  will  be  best  econ- 
omized if  it  is  so  placed  that  it  is  not  exposed  to  strong  drafts,  which  must  also  be  avoided  as 
making  the  lamp  smote. 

TEMPERATURE  OF  OVEN. 

The  empty  oven  after  being  heated  for  two  hours  has  been  found  on  the  average  at  360° 
F.  This  in  the  spring,  in  a  kitchen  not  otherwise  heated  and  the  oven  placed  in  a  somewhat 
drafty  position  between  two  doors.  Under  more  favorable  circumstances  the  heat  was  found 
to  be  10°  to  20°  greater.  This  point  is  of  importance,  since  it  shows  the  maximum  heat  of 
the  oven  and  the  degree  that  can  be  communicated  in  time  to  the  contents. 

To  learn  at  what  rate  the  heat  of  the  oven  was  lost  to  the  surrounding  air  the  lamp  was 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTEITION.  93 

extinguished  after  the  oven  was  fully  heated,  and  after  an  hour  the  reading  on  the  ther- 
mometer again  taken.  It  was  150°.  How  much  heat  was  still  held  in  the  walls  of  the  oven 
was  shown  by  again  lighting  the  lamp  and  testing  at  intervals.  After  fifteen  minutes  the 
oven  was  found  to  have  again  reached  its  average  of  360°. 

Other  records  with  the  thermometer  show  how  the  temperature  is  afEected  by  what  is 
put  in  the  oven  to  be  cooked.  Into  the  oven  as  heated  above  were  put  four  cookers,  contain- 
ing six  quarts  of  water  and  vegetables,  at  a  temperature  of  70°.  This  brought  the  ther- 
mometer down  to  150°.  In  one  and  one-half  hours  after  it  registered  370°,  and  in  another 
half -hour  it  had  risen  to  325°. 

A  two-pound  roast  of  beef  was  then  put  in,  causing  another  fall  in  the  reading,  and  it 
was  not  till  one  and  one-half  hours  later  that  310°  was  reached.  The  cookers  in  this  case 
were  covered,  allowing  very  little  escape  of  steam.  These  and  similar  observations  lead  us 
to  a  few  general  rules  as  to  the  use  of  the  oven  : 

1.  Since  it  does  not  reach  its  full  heat  for  an  hour  or  somewhat  more,  that  time  must 
be  allowed  before  it  is  attempted  to  bake  or  roast  or  to  cook  in  any  way  requiring  a  high  heat 
at  the  beginning.  Dishes  that  do  not  require  this  high  degree  of  heat  may  be  put  in  at 
convenience. 

2.  The  time  necessary  for  cooking  any  given  dish  will  depend  on  the  size  of  the  dish, 
where  it  is  placed  in  the  oven  (whether  top  or  bottom),  and  on  how  much  other  cooking  the 
oven  is  expected  to  do  at  the  same  time.  The  greater  the  quantity  of  food  to  be  raised  to  & 
certain  temperature,  the  longer  it  will  take. 

3.  The  boiling  or  the  baking  temperature  once  reached,  it  is  evenly  held  (unless  the 
oven  is  temporarily  cooled  by  other  additions),  and  the  time  for  cooking  a  dish  may  be 
accurately  reckoned  from  that  point,  according  to  rules  familiar  to  us  in  using  other  stoves. 

Food  to  be  cooked  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  may,  of  course,  be  prepared  according  to  any 
recipe  preferred,  only  slight  changes  being  necessary  to  adapt  to  the  oven.  The  main  thing 
to  be  remembered  is  that  evaporation  is  but  slight,  and  little  allowance  is  to  be  made  for 
"boiling  away." 

In  general  it  may  be  concluded  from  what  has  been  said  of  the  character  of  the  oven 
that  the  only  dishes  that  require  special  attention  are  those  that  require  a  high  degree  of 
heat  at  the  beginning,  as  roast  beef,  or  those  that  should  have  a  continuous  application  of 
heat  at  the  boiling  point,  as  grains  and  vegetables  containing  a  large  proportion  of  starch. 
Rice,  for  instance,  may  be  thoroughly  softened  at  a  temperature  considerably  below  the  boil- 
ing point,  but  the  raw  taste  reveals  the  fact  that  the  starch  grains  have  not  been  fully  rup- 
tured. But  the  oven  cooks  easily,  on  both  top  and  bottom  shelves,  all  kinds  of  meats  on  any 
but  the  roasting  principle,  eggs  in  their  many  combinations,  fruits,  and  most  grains  and 
vegetables. 

BREAD  BAKING. 

It  will  be  found  most  convenient  to  so  time  the  making  of  the  bread  that  it  will  be  ready 
to  go  into  the  oven  when  the  dinner  comes  out.  Otherwise,  heat  the  oven  for  an  hour  before- 
hand. Use  the  oblong  or  brick  loaf  pans,  the  loaves  baked  in  which  will  weigh  about  one 
and  one- quarter  pounds  ;  the  oven  will  accommodate  six  of  these  at  once.    Do  not  allow  tht 


94  THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTKITION". 

bread  to  become  quite  as  light  as  if  to  be  baked  in  the  ordinary  oven,  where  its  rising  is  so 
soon  checked.  Place  half  of  the  bread  on  the  lower  shelf  and  half  on  the  middle,  and 
exchange  them  midway  in  the  time  of  baking.  See  that  the  lamp  is  burning  perfectly,  as  its 
full  heat  is  required. 

Time. — Bake  rolls,  rusks,  etc.,  on  the  lower  shelf,  with  one  grate  below,  and  allow  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  or,  if  very  thin,  one-half  hour.  Bake  four  loaves  of  size  above 
described,  one  and  one-half  hours.  For  six  loaves  allow  one-quarter  to  one-half  hour  more, 
decreasing  the  heat  a  little  at  the  last. 

Stirred  bread,  which  can  lose  more  water  without  becoming  dried,  may  be  baked  three 
hours  or  longer,  and  this  time  is  necessary  for  bread  in  which  other  grains  are  used,  as  corn 
and  rye. 

Unless  this  baking  time  is  much  exceeded,  hardness  or  dryness  in  the  bread  is  not  to  be 
charged  to  the  baking,  but  rather  to  an  undue  proportion  of  flour  in  the  mixing.  The  writer 
has  carefully  compared  bread  baked  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  and  bread  baked  in  a  gas  oven, 
weighing  the  loaves  before  and  after  baking.  The  result  showed  almost  exactly  the  same  loss 
in  weight,  whether  the  loaves  were  baked  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  one  and  one-half  hours  at  a 
temperature  that  started  at  360°  F. ,  or  in  the  gas  oven  three  quarters  of  an  hour  at  400°  F. 

This  six  months'  use  of  the  oven  for  bread  baking  may  be  considered  a  fair  test.  It  is 
greatly  liked  in  the  writer's  family,  and  the  ordinary  quickly  baked  bread  is  no  longer 
satisfactory. 

SODA  BISCUITS,   GEMS,   ETC. 

Doughs  of  this  character  bake  on  the  bottom  with  one  shelf  under  In  one-half  to  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour.  Short  cakes  are  baked  in  the  same  length  of  time  and  afterward  split 
and  filled.  The  thinner  or  drop  mixtures  made  of  wheat,  rye,  or  corn,  are  baked  in  three- 
juarters  to  one  hour  in  gem  pans,  which  it  is  better  to  heat  in  the  oven  while  the  dough  is 
being  made.  All  breads  mixed  with  water  have  been  found  to  require  a  somewhat  longer 
application  of  heat  than  those  mixed  with  milk. 

GRAINS. 

In  cooking  mushes  made  from  the  coarsely  ground  grains,  the  oven  will  be  found  very 
valuable.  The  long,  slow  cooking  needed  for  oatmeal,  cracked  wheat  and  corn  in  all  its 
grades,  from  flour  to  hulled  corn,  is  here  easily  performed  without  watching,  or  such  an  outlay 
for  fuel  as  amounts  to  more  than  the  food  material  is  worth. 

Mix  any  of  these  grains  with  the  same  proportion  of  water,  cold  or  hot,  that  would  be 
used  in  the  double  boiler.  Put  into  a  covered  cooker  and  keep  on  the  oven  bottom  until  the 
boiling  point  is  reached,  when  it  may  be  removed  to  the  upper  shelf  to  finish  cooking.  For 
the  "  granulated  "  varieties  an  hour  will  be  enough,  for  other  kinds  two  hours  or  longer. 

Various  trials  have  failed  to  show  any  difference  in  the  taste  of  these  mushes,  whether 
they  are  put  into  hot  or  cold  water.  The  only  requisite  seems  to  be  that  they  be  cooked  long 
enough,  and  at  some  time  in  the  process  be  brought  to  the  boiling  point. 

Rice. — A  number  of  experiments  in  the  cooking  of  rice  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  has  led  to 
the  conclusion  that  rice  in  order  to  be  perfectly  cooked  must  be  put  into  boiling  water,  three 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  ifUTRITIOlir.  95 

parts  of  water  to  one  of  rice,  and  placed  in  the  already  heated  oven  to  remain  half  an  hour, 
or,  if  the  quantity  is  large,  somewhat  longer. 

SOUP  STOCK. 

The  cook-books  unite  in  prescribing  a  "  gentle  simmer"  as  the  proper  thing  in  making 
soup  stock,  but  the  question  how  to  maintain  it  for  a  number  of  hours  on  an  open  range 
has  puzzled  many  a  housekeeper.  The  water  in  the  pot  will  too  often  be  found  either  at  a 
mad  boil  or  entirely  still,  and  the  much  peeping  into  the  pot  to  see  how  matters  are  progress- 
ing dissipates  the  fine  aroma  that  should  be  kept  in  the  soup.  Even  an  adjustable  flame 
beneath  the  pot  does  not  solve  the  difficulty,  as  the  air  is  constantly  cooling  the  sides  and 
the  top.  Only  in  a  steam  bath  or  by  the  oven  heat  before  referred  to  can  the  ideal  result  be 
obtained,  and  only  small  quantities  can  be  conveniently  so  made.  But  the  Aladdin  Oven 
seems  to  meet  all  the  requirements  for  soup  making,  and  may  be  considered  a  great  success  in 
this  line.  It  has  been  used  in  the  New  England  Kitchen  for  a  year  and  a  half  in  making 
daily  many  gallons  of  beef  broth  of  the  best  quality,  and  it  is  no  less  successful  in  making 
stock  for  the  family  soup. 

The  meat  and  bones  are  put  into  cold  water  as  usual,  and  the  flavors  may  be  added  at 
the  same  time,  as  they  will  not  be  dissipated  with  this  method  of  cooking.  It  is  more  con- 
venient to  make  soup  when  no  other  cooking  is  going  on,  as  over  night.  If  the  quantity  is 
large,  the  flame  of  the  lamp  should  be  kept  at  full  height ;  if  small,  turn  the  flame  partly 
down,  or  use  a  smaller  lamp.  Time,  six,  eight  or  ten  hours.  When  the  stock  has  cooled 
and  the  fat  been  removed,  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  season  and  re-heat  the  needed  quantity  each 
day  in  the  oven. 

VEGETABLE  AND  JISH  SOUPS. 

Requiring  leas  time,  and  having  no  fat  to  be  removed,  these  do  not  need  to  be  cooked 
the  day  beforehand,  unless  in  the  case  of  pease,  and  beans,  that  require  five  hours'  cooking, 
and  are  improved  by  still  more.  The  various  chowders  are  all  well  cooked  in  the  oven.  They 
may  be  mixed  according  to  any  recipe,  very  little  allowance  being  needed  for  boiling  away. 

FISH. 

Sir  Henry  Thompson,  in  his  lectures  before  the  British  Fish  Commission  some  years  ago, 
recommended  baking  as  the  best  method  for  cooking  all  varieties  of  fish,  and,  since  the  heat 
in  this  case  should  be  moderate,  the  Aladdin  Oven  has  been  found  well  adapted  to  this  kind 
of  cookery. 

The  fish  may  be  stuffed  or  not,  but  in  any  case  should  be  well  seasoned.  Thin  slices  of 
pork  should  be  laid  over  the  fish  to  baste  it,  or  it  may  be  baked  in  a  sauce.  It  has  been 
found  best  to  bake  fish  on  the  platter  from  which  it  is  to  be  served,  to  retain  all  the  juices, 
and  it  is  better  to  bake  on  the  middle  shelf  than  on  the  oven  bottom.  In  an  already  heated 
oven  one  hour  will  be  sufficient  unless  the  fish  are  very  large. 

SCOLLOPED,   CREAMED  AND  CURRIED  FISH. 

These  various  dishes,  made  of  fish  already  cooked,  are  to  be  mixed  in  the  diihea  from 
which  they  are  to  be  served,  and  placed  in  the  oven  until  thoroughly  hot. 


96  THE   SCIENCE   OE   NUTRITIOIS'. 

MEATS. 

Roasting. — So  far  the  writer  has  not  succeeded  in  producing  a  roast  of  beef  that  is  satis- 
factory to  those  who  demand  the  rare  and  juicy  interior  ;  for  this  a  very  high  degree  of  heat 
at  the  beginning  of  the  process  seems  to  be  necessary.  But  a  tolerable  roast  may  be  obtained 
by  placing  the  piece  of  meat  in  a  pan  already  heated  and  containing  a  little  fat,  and  putting 
this  directly  on  the  oven  bottom.*  The  upper  surface  must  be  spread  with  butter  or  fat  to 
keep  it  from  drying,  and  the  meat  must  be  turned  over  midway  in  the  time.  One  hour  and 
a  half  has  been  found  suflBcient  for  a  small  roast  of  two  to  three  pounds  ;  two  hours  or  more 
must  be  allowed  for  a  large  one.  It  is  best  to  devote  the  entire  heat  of  the  oven  to  it  and  to 
first  heat  the  pan  before  putting  in  the  meat,  using  only  enough  fat  to  prevent  the  meat 
from  sticking. 

In  roasting  veal  or  pork,  where  the  rare  interior  is  not  desired,  the  result  is  very  satis- 
factory. Chickens  and  small  birds  are  apt  to  become  dried  by  the  longer  application  of  heat 
and  less  opportunity  to  baste.  To  avoid  this  they  may  be  larded,  and  if  the  flavor  of  pork 
is  disliked,  it  is  the  better  way  to  steam  them  closely  covered  in  a  very  little  water,  or  to  cook 
them  in  a  well-flavored  sauce,  t 

BRAISING,    STEWING,   POT  ROAST, 

are  all  well  adapted  to  the  oven,  as  also  the  cooking  of  corned  and  smoked  meats,  requiring, 
as  they  all  do,  a  long  application  of  heat  somewhat  under  the  boiling  point.  Reckoning 
from  the  time  this  is  reached,  it  is  only  necessary  to  allow  the  number  of  hours  required  in 
the  ordinary  stove,  but  it  is  well  to  remember  that  none  of  these  meats  are  easily  over-cooked. 
In  all  cases  the  cooker  should  be  tightly  closed. 

RE-COOKED  MEATS. 

There  are  a  great  number  of  dishes  whose  basis  is  meat  already  cooked,  to  which  other 
ingredients  and  flavors  are  added  in  a  sauce.  The  success  of  the  dish  depends  on  the  slow 
heating  that  shall  mingle  the  flavors  without  really  raising  the  meat  to  the  boiling  point 
(which  is  also  the  toughening  point  for  many  kinds  that  have  been  once  cooked),  and  for 
such  work  the  heat  of  the  ordinary  stove  is  often  too  great.  These  dishes  can  be  cooked  on 
the  bottom  of  the  oven,  with  the  tight  shelf  underneath,  in  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  or 
better  above,  allowing  twice  as  much  time. 

EGGS. 

It  is  now  very  generally  understood  that  eggs  should  be  cooked  considerably  below  the 
boiling  point  to  keep  the  white  from  becoming  horny  and  indigestible.  This  temperature  is 
170°  to  180°  F.  As  a  little  more  or  less  time  in  the  process  is  of  no  consequence  if  this  tem- 
perature is  not  passed,  a  little  practice  will  make  the  Aladdin  Oven  of  great  use  in  this 
branch  of  cookery. 

Boiled  Eggs.— Put  the  eggs  in  cold  water  and  place  in  the  oven  until  the  water  reaches 
180°  F.     Or,  if  inconvenient  to  test  this,  let  the  water  first  come  to  the  boiling  point,  a  half 

*  Some  slight  changes  made  In  the  oven  since  these  tests  were  applied  have  enabled  simple  rules  to  be  niade 
which  have  been  given  by  the  writer  elsewhere,  which  may  give  a  preference  to  this  oven  for  roasting  over  any 
other  appliance.    Such  has  been  the  experience  of  very  many  persons  in  practice. 

+  See  instructions  given  elsewhere  for  box  cooking.  E.  A. 


THE    SCIENCE    OE   NUTKITION.  97 

pint  for  each  egg,  put  in  the  eggs  and  remove  the  cooker  from  the  oven,  letting  it  stand  for 
five  minutes.  Or  the  proportion  of  water  may  be  less  and  the  cooker  be  left  in  the  oven  five 
or  ten  minutes,  anyway  to  communicate  the  desired  degree  of  heat  to  the  interior  of  the  3ggs. 

Baked  Eggs. — Break  each  egg  into  a  buttered  cup  acd  set  the  cups  into  a  pan  of  water,, 
which  place  in  the  oven  till  the  whites  become  slightly  opaque.  These  can  be  served  on  thin 
slices  of  ham  that  have  meanwhile  been  frying  in  a  pan  on  the  oven  bottom.  Or  the  eggs 
may  be  baked  on  a  stoneware  platter  previously  covered  with  a  layer  of  heated  hash,  rice, 
macaroni,  asparagus,  or  whatever  else  may  be  desired.  Make  dents  in  this  mound  with  the 
bowl  of  a  spoon  for  the  reception  of  each  egg. 

Omelet. — Prepare  as  usual  and  cook  for  about  five  minutes  in  a  pan  on  the  bottom  of 
the  oven.     Fold  and  serve. 

CHEESE  DISHES. 

The  various  mixtures  of  milk,  eggs,  bread,  etc.,  with  grated  cheese,  as  fondue,  fondamin, 
and  ramokins,  are  easily  baked  in  the  Aladdin  Oven.  The  time  must  be  suited  to  the  size  of 
each  dish, 

VEGETABLES. 

Young  and  tender  vegetables,  spinach,  asparagus,  pease  and  beans,  corn,  tomatoes, 
summer  squash,  and  half -grown  beets  should  be  steamed  in  a  very  little  water  rather  than 
boiled.  If  the  water  in  the  cooker  is  first  heated  to  the  boiling  point  they  will  require,  on 
the  oven  bottom,  but  little  more  time  than  ordinarily  allowed.  Or  they  can  be  put  at  once 
into  the  water  to  avoid  again  opening  the  oven.  When  they  have  once  reached  the  boiling 
point  they  will  finish  cooking  on  the  upper  shelf  in  a  somewhat  longer  time. 

Winter  squash  should  be  baked  in  its  rind  until  tender,  when  the  inside  can  be  scraped 
out  and  seasoned. 

Beets,  if  full  grown,  will  require  two  to  four  hours. 

Potatoes  and  macaroni,  in  which  the  starch  constituent  is  large,  should  be  kept  for  some 
time  at  the  full  boiling  heat ;  but  it  seems  to  make  no  difference  with  the  result  whether  they 
are  put  into  cold  or  hot  water,  or  how  long  they  are  in  coming  to  the  boiling  point.  It  is 
important,  however,  that  they  be  taken  out  and  drained  when  tender.  They  may  then  be 
kept  hot  in  the  oven  for  a  considerable  time  without  inj  nry.  If  put  into  boiling  water  and 
kept  on  the  lower  shelf,  the  time  is  one-half  to  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  as  on  the  ordinary 
stove.     If  then  transferred  to  the  upper  shelf,  more  time  must  be  given. 

It  is  important  to  know  how  to  treat  a  vegetable  so  much  used  as  is  the  potato  ;  by  this 
method  the  result  has  always  been  good,  and  by  no  other  way  of  cooking  known  to  the 
writer  will  macaroni  be  so  tender  and  increase  so  in  size  while  remaining  entirely  unbroken. 
Potatoes  may  also  be  baked  on  the  oven  bottom  in  one  to  two  and  one-half  hours,  but  the 
writer  has  not  found  this  method  always  satisfactory  in  producing  mealy  potatoes.  If  placed 
directly  on  the  bottom,  they  must  be  turned  in  order  that  they  may  bake  evenly. 

CAEE. 

Cake  has  been  successfully  baked  only  on  the  lower  part  of  the  oven,  with  t\7o  shelves 
interposed  between  it  and  the  bottom.    Patty  pans  and  layer  cakes  bake  in  one-half  to  three- 


!^y  THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 

quarters  of  an  hour,  cookies  in  less  time,  loaves  require  one  and  one-half  to  two  hours.  If  small 
forms  are  used  for  baking  the  ordinary  cake  mixtures,  and  with  the  full  heat  of  the  oven, 
the  result  is  satisfactory,  but  loaves  are  so  long  in  rising  that  the  cake  has  been  found  to  be 
coarse-grained  as  compared  with  the  same  mixture  baked  in  a  gas  oven  a  shorter  time.  For 
fruit  cake  and  others  requiring  long,  slow  baking,  the  oven  has  been  found  to  be  well  adapted. 

PUDDINGS. 

With  puddings  of  all  kinds  the  work  of  the  oven  has  been  very  satisfactory;  many  kinds 
have  been  tried  and  without  anything  like  failure.  Especially  good  have  been  those  puddings 
having  a  custard  foundation,  because  the  delicate  curdling  point  is  not  so  easily  passed  as  in 
the  ordinary  oven;  excellent  also  are  all  fruit  and  suet  puddings  and  Indian  puddings  ;  for 
these  four  to  six  hours  must  be  allowed  on  the  middle  or  top  shelf.  A  custard  pudding  of 
medium  size  bakes  in  an  hour. 

PIES. 

With  pie  crust,  especially  puff  paste,  the  results  have  not  been  as  good,  as  it  seems  to 
require  high  heat  to  make  it  light  and  reasonably  wholesome.  Not  many  experiments,  how- 
ever, were  made  in  this  line,  a  baking  powder  crust  baked  as  a  short  cake  or  rolled  as  in  roly 
poly  pudding  being  found  so  much  more  satisfactory  to  use  with  fruit  or  even  with  the  ordi- 
nary lemon  pie  filling. 

FRUIT. 

Any  fruit,  fresh  or  dried,  may  be  cooked  slowly  in  the  oven,  the  longer  the  better,  it 
would  almost  seem,  from  the  surprisingly  fine  flavor  gained  by  some  kinds,  as  apples  and 
pears  when  cooked  till  they  turn  red.  In  all  cases  cook  the  sugar  with  the  fruit.  This  effect 
has  suggested  that  perhaps  fruit  is  ordinarily  not  cooked  enough.  A  longer  application  of 
heat  may  have  a  ripening  effect,  so  to  speak,  that  improves  digestibility  as  well  as  flavor.  It 
is  also  an  advantage  that  fruit  can  be  thus  thoroughly  cooked  and  yet  keep  its  form  perfectly. 
Cranberries,  two  parts  of  water  and  one  part  sugar  to  four  parts  of  fruit,  cooked  for  two 
hours  in  a  covered  vessel,  are  very  attractive  in  appearance  and  perfect  in  flavor. 

Entire  dinners  cooked  in  the  oven  have  required  some  planning,  and  a  few  specimen 
dinners  will  show  how  they  may  be  managed.  Oblong  cooking  vessels  will  best  economize 
the  oven  space,  but  two  of  the  ordinary  round  cookers,  holding  enough  for  a  family  of  six 
or  eight,  can  be  placed  on  the  bottom  of  the  oven  and  two  on  the  middle  shelf  for  slower 
cooking,  while  the  spaces  between  may  be  used  for  quart  or  pint  cups,  in  which  fruit,  etc. , 
can  be  cooked,  or  for  patty  pans  filled  with  cake,  tarts  or  puddings.  The  estimated  time  for 
cooking  is  for  covered  vessels. 

Dinner  No.  1. 
Tomato  Soup.        Beef  Stew,  with  Potatoes  and  Dumplings. 
Macaroni.        Gingerbread.        Stewed  Fruit. 

The  lamp  was  lighted  at  nine  o'clock  for  a  dinner  to  be  served  at  one,  and  at  the  same 
time  on  the  middle  shelf  were  placed  materials  for  a  tomato  soup  and  the  fruit  to  be  stewed, 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION.  99 

while  on  the  lower  shelf  was  put  a  cooker,  half  filled  with  water,  for  the  macaroni  and 
another  containing  the  beef  stew.  This  dish  was  prepared  as  usual,  little  water  being 
allowed  for  boiling  away,  and  each  piece  of  meat  was  floured  to  give  the  right  consistency  to 
the  gravy.  The  potatoes,  being  old,  were  first  scalded  to  remove  the  strong  taste,  and  they 
were  then  laid  upon  the  meat.  This  stew  was  put  in  an  iron  pot  with  a  close-fitting  cover. 
The  oven  was  then  closed  until  twelve  o'clock.  When  the  macaroni  was  put  into  the  cooker 
on  the  lower  shelf,  in  which  the  water  was  found  to  be  boiling,  and  the  spaces  between  the 
cookers  were  filled  with  patty  pans  of  ginger  cake.  A  little  before  one  o'clock  the  oven  was 
opened  to  remove  the  soup,  to  drain  and  season  the  macaroni,  which  was  then  returned  to 
the  upper  shelf  to  keep  warm,  and  also  to  drop,  in  spoonfuls,  on  the  stew  the  dumplings  (a 
simple  baking  powder  mixture);  this  was  allowed  to  steam  close  covered  for  twelve  minutes. 
This  dinner  required,  besides  the  putting  together  of  materials,  which  is  the  same  in  any 
case,  only  slight  attention  once  between  lighting  the  lamp  and  beginning  to  serve  the  dinner. 
This  dinner  was  varied  by  using  different  meats  for  the  stew,  and  by  substituting  for  the 
macaroni  any  tender  vegetables  that  were  in  season.  Soup  stock  made  the  day  before  was 
heated  on  the  upper  shelf. 

Dinner  No.  3. 

Pea  Soup.  Boiled  Tongue. 

Boiled  Beets.  Winter  Squash. 

Baked  Apples.  Suet  Pudding. 

As  all  these  dishes  required  long  cooking,  they  were  prepared  as  far  as  possible  the  night 
before  and  put  all  together  into  tlie  oven  at  seven  or  half -past,  when  the  lamp  was  lighted. 
The  tongue  and  the  pease  (already  soaked  over  night)  were  placed  on  the  bottom  with  no 
shelf  intervening,  the  other  dishes  above.  The  beets  are  supposed  to  be  reasonably  tender 
to  begin  with,  not  the  withered  variety  of  the  late  winter,  which  no  amount  of  cooking  will 
make  really  edible. 

This  dinner  was  found  very  convenient  when  the  entire  forenoon  was  wanted  for  other 
work  than  cooking.  It  was  varied  by  other  dishes  requiring  the  same  long  cooking,  a  half 
hour  more  or  less  making  no  difference  in  the  result.  Such  dishes  were:  Boiled  ham,  hulled 
corn,  hominy  and  other  coarse  cereals,  pork  and  beans,  bean  soup,  etc. 

It  may  here  be  added  that  this  preparation  of  the  dinner  as  far  as  possible  the  night 
before,  though  the  housekeeper  may  consider  it  a  great  innovation ,  often  changes  a  hurried 
morning  into  a  leisurely  one  and  rescues  the  dinner  from  failure. 

Dinner  No.  3, 

In  dinners  one  and  two  the  food  was  cooked  at  the  temperature  of  boiling  water  or  that 
slight  degree  above  it  due  to  the  presence  of  various  soluble  constituents  of  food  ;  some  of 
the  food  was  even  cooked  below  the  boiling  point.  But  if  too  much  cooking  is  not  attempted 
at  once,  the  temperature  of  the  oven  may  be  brought  to  considerably  over  300°,  and  even  300° 


100  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTEITION. 

has  been  found  to  give  to  roast  beef  much  of  its  characteristic  flavor.    The  lamp  was  lighted 
at  nine  o'clock  for  a  one  o'clock  dinner  to  consist  of 

Tapioca  Soup.        Roast  Beef  (21b.  to  81b.),  with  Yorkshire  Pudding. 

Baked  Potatoes.  Stewed  Parsnips. 

Cranberries.  Bread  Pudding. 

The  oven  was  allowed  to  heat  for  an  hour  and  then  the  pudding  and  cranberries  were 
put  in  on  the  oven  bottom.  At  eleven  o'clock  the  potatoes  were  put  in  also  on  the  oven 
bottom,  but  with  a  tin  under  to  keep  from  burning,  and  the  cranberries  and  pudding  were 
transferred  to  the  upper  shelf  to  finish.  At  the  same  time  a  pan  containing  some  fat  was 
put  in  to  heat  for  the  beef.  The  beef  was  put  in  at  11.30  below,  as  also  the  Yorkshire  pud- 
ding above,  in  patty  pans.  The  potatoes  were  turned,  and  the  parsnips  in  a  very  little  water 
were  put  on  the  lower  shelf.  The  stock  was  set  on  the  upper  shelf  to  heat,  and  the  tapioca 
put  to  cook  in  a  cup.  In  three-quarters  of  an  hour  the  meat  was  turned,  the  cranberries 
taken  out,  the  parsnips  put  on  the  upper  shelf  in  their  place  to  finish  cooking,  thus  making 
room  below  for  the  Yorkshire  puddings,  which  need  some  of  the  bottom  heat  to  make  them 
brown.    At  one  o'clock  all  was  found  cooked  and  ready. 

OTHER  USES  FOR   THE  OVEN. 

As  A  Water  Heater. — In  a  family  where  the  Aladdin  Oven  is  used  for  cooking,  the 
necessary  heating  of  water  for  dish-washing,  etc. ,  can  be  done  by  filling  the  oven  with  pots 
of  water  as  soon  as  the  dinner  is  removed.  It  is  better,  however,  to  have  a  copper-bottomed 
tin  boiler  made  to  fit  the  entire  oven  space.  Such  a  one«wiil  hold  about  eight  gallons,  and 
will  be  made  by  a  tinsmith  for  $1.50.  It  should  have  a  ring  on  the  front  side  and  one  at 
each  end  to  assist  when  it  is  drawn  in  or  out.  Have  made,  also,  a  wooden  bench  of  the 
exact  height  of  the  oven  bottom,  and  this  placed  in  front  of  the  opened  door  will  make  the 
removal  of  the  boiler  full  of  hot  water,  safe  and  easy  even  for  one  person.  If  properly  man- 
aged, this  boiler  will  heat  enough  water  to  do  the  washing  for  a  small  family.  It  can  be 
heated  over  night  for  use  early  in  the  morning,  and  will  be  found  nearly  at  the  boiling  point, 
though  the  lamp  may  have  gone  out  some  time  before.  Another  boilerful  can  be  heated  and 
removed  in  time  to  cook  the  dinner. 

This  quantity  of  hot  water  will  also  bring  the  bath  water  for  one  person  to  the  req::ired 
temperature,  and  this  method  is  certainly  to  be  preferred  in  summer  to  heating  the  whole 
house  with  the  kitchen  range  when  the  heat  is  not  otherwise  needed. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  it  has  been  found  to  be  an  excellent  plan  in  houses  heated  by 
a  furnace  to  run  a  pipe  from  the  water  tank  through  the  furnace,  obtaining  in  this  way  an 
unlimited  supply  of  hot  water,  day  and  night,  during  the  winter.  In  summer  a  judicious 
use  of  the  Aladdin  Oven  during  the  hours  when  it  is  not  needed  for  cooking  will  go  far 
toward  supplying  this  want. 

As  A  Fruit  Canner. — ^The  boiler  above  described  is  to  be  put  to  a  use  that  will  make  it 
welcomed  by  any  housekeeper  in  summer.    Put  a  layer  of  straw  in  the  bottom  to  prevent 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION.  101 

"  bumping  "  and  pack  it  full  of  glass  fruit  jars  previously  filled  with  fruit  and  hot  syrup.  It 
will  hold  eight  of  the  quart  size.  Partly  fill  the  boiler  with  water  and  let  it  remain  in  the 
oven  till  its  contents  have  reached  the  boiling  point,  when  the  jars  are  removed  and  sealed  in 
the  usual  manner.* 

In  the  case  of  corn,  pease  and  other  vegetables  requiring  long  cooking  or  re-cooking  at 
intervals,  the  advantage  is  obvious,  as  the  long-continued  heat  necessary  for  killing  fermenta- 
tive germs  and  their  spores  can  here  be  well  maintained. 

Housekeepers  often  have  opportunity  to  buy  toward  night  perishable  fruit  very  cheap, 
and  would  of tener  do  so  did  it  not  necessitate  sitting  up  half  the  night  to  can  the  fruit. 
It  would  seem  that  this  method  could  easily  be  used  ;  it  would  only  be  necessary  to  refill  the 
lamp  in  the  morning  and  bring  the  fruit  again  to  the  full  boiling  point  before  sealing. 

The  oven  may  be  used  in  fruit  canning  without  this  boiler,  the  fruit  and  sugar  being  put 
into  a  porcelain  kettle  and  kept  there  until  thoroughly  cooked.  As  there  is  no  danger  of 
burning,  no  water  need  be  added.  All  fruit  tried  by  the  writer  was  perfectly  cooked  without 
being  broken,  only  in  the  case  of  black  raspberries  the  juice  seemed  to  be  too  much  drawn 
out  of  the  berries,  leaving  them  somewhat  dry. 

Following  the  suggestion  found  in  an  old  cook-book  for  preserving  cherrieb .  ' '  Put  them 
with  the  sugar  into  close-covered  crocks  in  an  *  afternoon '  oven  (that  is  a  gradually  cooling 
oven),  and  keep  them  there  for  several  hours,"  a  fine  result  was  reached  as  to  flavor  and  ten- 
derness, though  the  syrup  required  still  further  evaporation  to  reduce  it  to  the  jellying  point. 

For  Drying  Fruit. — If  the  tube  in  the  top  be  raised  to  allow  the  free  escape  of  steam 
the  oven  can  be  turned  into  a  fruit  dryer,  the  shelves  being  filled  with  plates  of  sliced  fruit. 

Various  other  uses  as  a  warming  oven  will  be  suggested  to  any  housekeeper.  It  is  better 
than  a  bain  marie  for  keeping  food  warm  after  it  is  cooked,  and  the  top  of  the  oven  gives 
exactly  the  right  temperature  for  raising  bread,  a  tin  pot  lid  being  placed  beneath  to  prevent 
direct  contact.  Mart  Hinman  Abel. 

Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  September,  1891. 


*  The  writer  has  two  tinned  copper  vessels  which  fill  the  oven,  one  above  another.  In  each  of  these,  eight  glass 
jars,  of  the  type  known  as  butter-jar,  may  be  piaced— making  sixteen  at  one  charge.  This  method  of  saving 
tomatoes  without  subjecting  them  to  a  heat  above  300°  F.  is  especially  recommended.  E.  A. 


ECONOMY  IN  FOOD  MATERIAL. 


It  is  essential  to  gaining  attention  to  metliods  by  wliich  great  economy  in  food  ma- 
terial can  be  secured  to  take  cognizance  of  the  demand  of  the  community  for  a  varied  and 
appetizing  diet.  Few  persons  have  strong  enough  will  to  limit  themselves  to  a  cheap 
diet  of  a  monotonous  kind  wliich  soon  palls  upon  the  palate.  This  branch  of  the  science  of 
nutrition  has  been  dealt  with  in  many  cookery  books  in  which  instructions  are  given  for 
preparing  food  at  low  cost  on  the  ordinary  stove  or  range.  The  methods  of  preparing 
h-uch  compounds  vary  more  when  the  Aladdin  Oven  or  a  cooking  box  or  bucket  may  be 
used  than  they  do  when  the  instructions  aj^ply  to  the  highly-heated  stove. 

There  is  one  class  of  food  materials  to  which  no  sufficient  attention  has  ever  yet 
been  given  in  the  northern  section  of  this  country,  namely,  the  various  grades  of  hominy, 
especially  that  coarse  variety  of  hulled  corn,  cracked,  which  is  known  as  hominy  samp. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  nutritious  forms  of  grain  and  it  is  also  one  which  can  be  made  a 
medium  for  imparting  or  carrying  flavors  of  various  kinds  into  the  compounds  of  which  it 
may  form  a  part. 

Almost  any  one  who  has  paid  any  attention  to  the  subject  of  nutrition  knows  that  maca- 
roni may  be  cooked  or  combined  in  a  great  variety  of  ways  forming  a  sort  of  base  for  a  variety 
of  flavors.  Coarse  hominy  samp  may  be  dealt  with  in  the  same  way  with  very  excellent 
results,  using  it  as  a  base  for  conveying  flavors  to  different  compounds.  Hominy  may  also  be 
used  as  a  base  for  absorbing  nutritious  fat  so  that  there  will  be  nothing  gross  or  greasy  in 
the  compound. 

But  this  coarse  hominy  samp  needs  to  be  cooked  in  the  very  reverse  of  macaroni.  It 
must  be  soaked  over  night  and  even  after  being  soaked  it  must  be  cooked  at  a  moderate 
degree  of  heat  for  a  very  long  time.  It  therefore  lends  itself  to  the  processes  of  what  I 
have  called  five-hour  cooking, —  a  most  convenient  method  for  those  who  may  leave  their 
homes  in  the  morning  and  may  be  glad  to  return  five  hours  later  finding  a  good,  nutritious 
and  appetizing  dinner  ready  to  be  served  without  any  attention  in  the  interval. 

There  are  very  many  compounds  of  coarse  hominy  samp  which  may  be  cooked  in 
this  way.  I  submit  the  following  recipes  as  well  as  some  others  which  are  dealt  with  in 
less  time. 

No.  1.  Soak  half  a  pound  of  hominy  samp  all  night.  Take  one  pound  of  breast  of  Iamb; 
cut  into  small  pieces.  Cut  up  one  small  onion.  Season  with  salt,  pepper,  one  flat  teaspoonful  of 
celery  salt  and  a  little  Worcestershire  sauce.  Add  one  pint  of  water.  Put  into  a  crockery  ves- 
sel, jar  or  bean-pot  and  cook  five  hours. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION.  103 

No.  2.  Take  one-half  pound  of  hominy  samp;  soak  all  night.  Add  one-half  pound  ol 
prunes  and  a  little  spice,  and  sugar  to  the  taste.     Add  one  pint  of  water.     Cook  five  hours. 

No.  3.  One-half  pound  of  hominy  samp  soaked  all  night;  one  pound  of  cheap  beef  cut  into 
cubes;  one  small  onion.     Season  to  taste.     Add  one  pint  of  water.     Cook  five  hours. 

No.  4.  One-half  pound  of  hominy  samp  soaked  all  night ;  one  pound  of  any  low-priced 
meat;  one  onion  and  any  other  vegetables  —  a  quarter  of  a  pound  each  —  cut  into  small  pieces 
Add  one  pint  of  water.     Season  to  taste  and  cook  five  hours. 

No.  5.  One-half  pound  of  hominy  samp  soaked  all  night ;  one  pound  of  cheap  veal ;  half  a  can 
of  tomato ;  half  a  cup  of  grated  cheese ;  pepper  and  salt  and,  if  a  little  more  fat  is  desired,  a  little 
butter  or  chopped  suet.  No  water  required.  Cook  five  hours.  This  is  a  very  appetizing  coa>- 
pound  at  very  low  cost. 

No.  6.  One-half  pound  of  hominy  samp  soaked  all  night;  one  pound  of  (ripe  cut  in  strips; 
one  onion ;  pepper  and  salt,  tomato  catsup  or  some  c.anned  tomato.  Add  a  pint  or  less  of  water 
according  to  the  amount  of  tomato  used.     Cook  five  hours; 

No.  7.  One-half-pound  of  hominy  samp  soaked  all  night;  one  pound  of  veal  or  half  of  a  fowl 
cut  into  small  pieces ;  one  onion.  Add  one  pint  of  water ;  season  with  curry  to  taste.  This  is  a  most 
excellent  and  appetizing  dish.     Cook  five  hours. 

Pickled  lambs'  tongues  may  be  substituted  for  the  veal  or  the  fovrl.     Breast  of  lamb  * 
cooked  with  the  compound  as  before  and  then  seasoned  with  curry  is  also  very  delicious. 

I  will  now  give  some  compounds  which  may  be  cooked  in  less  time  as  to  a  part  of  the 
materials. 

No.  8.  One-half  pound  of  hominy  samp  soaked  all  night,  to  be  cooked  five  hours,  seasoned 
with  salt.  At  the  end  of  three  hours,  place  upon  the  samp  half  a  pound  of  sausages.  No  water  re- 
quired.    Then  cook  two  hours  more.  ' 

No.  9.  One-half  pound  of  hominy  samp  soaked  all  night;  to  be  cooked  five  hours  with 
slivers  of  bacon.  Add  one  pint  or  less  of  water.  At  the  end  of  three  hours  add  a  half  pound  of 
liver. 

A  half  pound  of  hominy  seasoned  to  taste,  with  vegetables  of  various  kinds  makes  a 
good  dish  without  any  meat.  A  similar  compound  with  some  salt  codfish  added  is  ex- 
cellent.    Pigs'  feet  may  be  combined  with  any  of  these  compounds. 

No.  10.  One-half  pound  of  hominy  samp  soaked  all  night;  to  be  cooked  five  hours.  At  the 
end  of  three  hours  add  apples  quartered  and  sugar.     This  makes  an  excellent  pudding. 

In  fact  the  combinations  of  hominy  —  coarse  hominy  samp  being  preferred — maybe 
varied  to  any  extent  subject  to  the  general  rule  that  when  combined  with  beef,  meats  or 
poultry  the  whole  compound  is  to  be  cooked  five  hours,  more  or  less,  and  when  combined 
with  articles  like  liver  or  sausage  or  apples,  these  elements  may  be  added  about  two  hours 


104  THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 

before  serving.     The  hominy  will  be  softer  if   boiling  water  is  j)ut  ou  for  soaking — if   a 
grainy  condition  is  liked  better,  use  cold  water. 

I  wUl  now  give  a  few  recipes  of  the  cheap  kind  which  have  proved  to  be  excellent. 

The  cheaper  parts  of  lamb,  like  the  breast  of  lamb,  the  brisket  of  beef,  some  parts  of  veal  or 
a  tender  chicken  may  be  cooked  two  hours  with  celery,  chopped,  and  a  little  pepper  and  salt 
added.     When  ready  to  serve  add  a  little  milk. 

Codfish,  haddock  or  halibut  prepared  as  for  a  chowder,  with  a  little  onion,  very  little  salt 
pork,  pepper  and  salt.  Then  add  a  pint  of  oysters  without  any  water  —  the  juiue  of  the  oysters 
and  the  fish  will  make  a  most  excellent  sauce.  This  requires  about  two  hours  or  less  according  to 
the  quantity. 

Cheap  beef  which  requires  long  cooking  may  be  put  into  a  jar  with  a  small  quantity  of 
oysters  and  oyster  liquor,  to  be  cooked  four  or  five  hours.  About  an  hour  before  serving  add  more 
oysters  with  proper  seasoning.  The  flavor  of  the  oyster  is  absorbed  by  the  beef  and  the  dish  is  a 
very  appetizing  one. 

FROM  CORRESPONDENTS. 

GREEN    PEAS. 

Throw  the  peas  into  boiling  salted  water  for  three  minutes  to  preserve  the  color.  Dip  out 
with  a  strainer  and  fill  glass  jars.  Then  pour  cold  water  into  the  jars  to  expel  every  air  bubble. 
Put  in  the  Aladdin  Oven,  also  a  pitcher  of  water.  Light  the  lamp  and  leave  two  hours.  Then 
fill  each  jar  with  the  hot  water  and  seal. 

GRAPE    JUICE. 

Put  the  grapes  into  deep  pitchers  and  place  in  oven  at  night  with  the  lamp  turned  low.  In 
the  morning  pour  the  clear  juice  into  pint  bottles.  Do  not  press  the  grapes.  Add  a  little  sugar  to 
each  bottle.  One  teaspoonful  to  a  cup  of  juice  is  enough.  Put  the  bottles  in  the  oven.  Raise 
the  wick  and  leave  for  two  hours.  Then  fill  up  the  bottles  with  hot  juice  and  cork.  When  nearly 
cold  drive  in  the  corks  tight  with  a  hammer.  This  makes  a  refreshing  and  nourishing  drink  for 
an  invalid  or  any  one  who  is  fatigued.  Asthe  juice  is  not  fermented  or  mixed  with  alcohol  the 
strictest  total  abstainer  cannot  object  to  it.  After  a  bottle  is  uncorked  it  will  keep  several  days 
in  the  refrigerator.     This  is  very  nice  mixed  half  and  half  with  Appolinaris. 

GREEN   CORN 

A  little  too  old  to  be  boiled,  can  be  made  tender  in  the  Aladdin   Oven.     Leave  the  inner  husk 
on  the  ear  and  place  in  a  hot  oven  on  the  upper  shelf  for  twenty-five  minutes. 

PEACHES,  WHOLE  OR  HALVES. 

Pare  the  peaches  and  put  in  glass  preserve  jars,  adding  one  tablespoonful  of  sugar  to  every 
two  peaches.  Pack  the  jar  full — blanch  two  peach  kernels  and  place  on  top.  Put  on  the  cover, 
but  do  not  screw  down.  Place  in  the  oven,  light  the  Rochester  lamp-wick  one  and  one-half  inches 
in  diameter,  and  leave  for  two  hours  with  an  easy  conscience  sure  that  it  will  not  scorch.     At  the 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 


lOO 


end  of  this  time  take  out  the  jars  in  which  the  fruit  will  have  settled,  leaving  room  for  about  two 
more  peaches  and  juice.  It  is  well  to  fill  a  pitcher  with  peaches  and  the  same  proportion  of  sugar, 
and  put  in  the  oven  with  the  jars,  as  it  is  easier  to  fill  up  the  hot  jars  quickly  from  a  pitcher.  Fill 
to  overflowing  and  screw  covers  on  tight.  Keep  in  a  cool  place.  There  will  be  a  little  undissolved 
sugar  in  the  bottom  of  each  jar.  If  the  jar  is  laid  on  its  side  for  a  few  days  this  will  dissolve,  or 
may  be  obviated  by  putting  a  tablespoonful  of  water  in  each  jar  before  filling  with  fruit. 

It  is  well  to  place  one  of  the  perforated  shelves  on  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  and  then  place  a 
large  meat  pan  on  that,  to  bold  the  jars,  because,  if  one  is  prevented  in  any  way  from  taking  out 
the  jars  at  the  end  of  two  hours  the  juice  may  run  over,  but  the  fruit  will  not  be  injured  if  it  cooks 
four  hours. 

Any  fruit  can  be  cooked  in  the  same  way. 

Add  a  little  vinegar  and  a  little  muslin  bag  of  spices  to  each  jar  and  you  have  a  nice  sweet 
pickle. 

DAUB,    A    CREOLE   DISH. 

Eight  pounds  of  beef,  make  incisions  into  it,  put  in  strips  of  pork,  a  small  piece  of  onion 
and  garlic  if  }  ou  like  it,  salt  and  pepper.  Put  it  away  for  several  hours,  then  pour  over  it  a  pint  of 
vinegar ;  let  it  remain  over  night,''then  cook  four  or  five  hours  in  the  oven  in  a  sauce-pan  nearly 
full  of  water.  When  cooked,  remove ;  dissolve  an  ounce  of  gelatin  in  a  little  cold  water,  pour  over 
the  meat  and  put  all  in  a  mould. 

Lentils. 

I  have  lately  investigated  the  use  of  lentils  —  a  food  material  which  is  of  the  great- 
est value  where  meats  are  expensive  or  in  hot  climates  where  they  are  not  commonly 
used.  As  a  source  of  nitrogen  the  lentil  is  almost  unequalled  among  vegetable  foods ; 
and  at  the  prices  prevailing  in  Egypt,  Southern  Europe,  and  even  in  Boston,  Mass.,  it  is 
sometimes  claimed  to  yield  the  greatest  amount  of  food  value  for  the  price  that  can  be 
found. 

The  composition  of  the  lentil  is  as  follows  (Church's  "  Food  Plants  of  India  "  )  : 


Water 

Albuminoids 

Starch 

Oil 

Fibre 

Ash 


In  100  parts 

11.8 

25.1 

58.4 

1.3 

1.2 

2.2 


100.0 


German  lentils  are  deemed  the  best,  and  may  be  purchased  of  Park  &  Tilford,  New 
York ;  or  of  Cobb,  Bates  &  Yerxa,  Boston.  Italian  and  Sicilian  lentils  are  sold  by  P. 
Pastene  &  Co.,  Fulton  Street,  Boston.  I  have  imported  from  Egypt  the  small  red  lentik 
of  which  Esau's  mess  of  pottage  purports  to  have  been  made. 


106 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 


Professor  Church  recommends  soaking  a  short  time  ia  cold  water  with  a  little  com- 
mon soda,  as  they  are  sometimes  said  to  contain  a  little  bitter  principle  which  is  removed 
by  the  soda.     I  have  not  fomid  any  trouble  from  this  cause. 

We  use  them  habitually  in  my  own  family  and  in  my  office  kitchen  as  a  stock  for  a 
vegetable  soup,  as  a  puree  corresponding  to  black  bean  soup  and  sometimes  baked  with 
pork. 

I  recommend  as  seasoning,  the  use  of  Xepaul  pepper  and  a  dash  of  sherry  wine. 

LENTIL    VEGETABLE    SOUP. 

Half  a  cup  of  lentils  soaked  over  night,  one  carrot,  one  parsnip,  one  turnip,  one  small  onion 
or  other  vegetables.  Cut  up  small.  Cook  three  hours.  Season  with  salt  and  black  pepper  and  a 
little  butter,  or  with  salt,  Nepaul  or  Paprika  pepper  and  sherry  wine. 

I  lately  made  a  contract  with  an  incredulous  lady  that  I  would  give  a  perfectly  satis- 
fying, ample  and  nutritious  lunch  to  six  persons,  adults,  in  four  courses,  at  a  cost  of  not 
exceeding  thirty  cents,  or  five  cents  per  lunch,  at  the  ordinary  retail  prices  of  the  provi- 
sions. In  the  test  it  proved  that  in  three  of  the  four  courses  there  was  enough  for  eight. 
T  relied  to  some  extent  upon  lentils  in  this  experiment.  The  lunch  was  served  in  the  fol- 
lowing order  : 

Soup,  made  from  one  quarter  pound  of  Sicilian  lentils  costing      .             .             .  S.Ol 

Three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  mixed  vegetables,  chopped  fine       .             .             .  .02 

The  fish  course  consisted  of  one  pound  of  the  nape  of  halibut     .             .             .  .06 

Potatoes,  a  little  skimmed  milk  and  salt      ......  .01 

The  entree  consisted  of  breast  of  lamb,  one  pound            ....  .05 

Rice,  one-eighth  pound        .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .  .01 

Curry  powder           .........  .01 

The  desert,  bread-and-butter  pudding,  made  of  stale  bread,  a  handful  of  stoneless 

raisins,  sugar  and  a  very  little  milk         ......  .05 

The  bread  served,  brown  bread  made  of  rye,  Indian  and  whole  wheat — and  white  bread 

made  by  the  continuous  process.    I  computed  the  quantity  of  bread  consumed  at  .02 

One  cup  of  tea  or  coffee  to  each  person,  computed  at       .             .            .            .  .06 

Total,  .....        S.30 

The  continuous  process  of  bread  making  is  experimental.  I  think  it  will  become  a 
perfectly  simple  art.  It  consists  of  mixing  the  sponge  either  with  the  bread  kneader  or  in 
the  usual  way.  It  is  then  placed  in  the  pan  in  which  it  is  to  be  baked,  which  in  this  case 
was  a  thin  aluminum  pan.  On  a  metallic  table  over  the  two  and  one-half  inch  hole  I 
placed  a  slab  of  soapstone  with  legs  half  an  inch  high  —  the  slab  being  one  inch  in  thick- 
ness. Upon  that  I  placed  the  pan.  I  then  put  over  it  a  box  made  of  non-heat-conduct- 
ing material  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  known  as  salamander,  in  which  I  had  two  windows. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION.  107 

one  on  each  side,  with  a  thermometer  so  adjusted  as  to  read  the  heat  outside  while  the  bulb 
was  within.  Under  the  hole  in  the  table  I  placed  a  lamp  with  a  very  small  flame  like  the 
smallest  type  of  night  lamp.  The  heat  within  rose  to  100°  F.  The  bread  appeared  to 
be  raised  in  five  hours.  I  then  withdrew  the  small  lamp  and  placed  underneath  the  bole  a 
lamp  of  considerable  power.  In  three  hours  the  bread  was  thoroughly  baked.  It  was  of 
close  texture,  of  tawny  yellow  color  and  had  a  very  sweet,  nutty  flavor.  Had  I  used  a 
lamp  of  higher  power  for  the  baking,  the  work  would  have  been  done  in  an  horn'  and  a  half 
or  two  hours,  and  the  bread  would  have  been  ordinary  white  bread. 

AN  EXCELLENT  FLOUR. 

For  making  good  bread,  flour  made  by  the  "  Cyclone  Process,"  so-called,  has  re- 
ceived the  highest  commendation  in  England.  The  wheat  is  ground  by  the  attrition  of 
one  grain  against  the  other.  It  is  not  heated  and  the  full  flavor  is  retained.  Although 
the  mechanism  by  which  this  work  is  accomplished  was  invented  in  the  United  States  for 
the  reduction  of  ores,  it  has  only  been  applied  to  the  preparation  of  wheat  in  England. 
This  flour  is  therefore  not  readily  available  in  this  country.  A  flour  of  corresponding 
merit,  rich  in  flavor,  of  full  nutrition  and  of  most  excellent  and  uniform  quality,  is  made 
by  Mr.  L.  H.  Hyde,  of  Joliet,  111.  One  variety,  rich  in  the  germ  gluten  and  phosphates 
of  the  wheat,  may  be  commended  for  its  fine  flavor  and  its  extremely  nutritious  properties. 

There  are  many  errors  prevailing  in  regard  to  bread  as  well  as  to  flour.  The  re- 
moval of  the  germ  in  very  fine  flour  takes  away  a  most  valuable  element,  both  in  flavor 
and  in  nutrition.  The  coarser  ground  flour  of  the  ordinary  kind  which  wiU  not  make 
absolutely  white  bread,  is  nevertheless  much  better  than  the  very  fine  flour.  The  different 
varieties  which  are  made  by  Mr.  Hyde  can  be  used  in  illustration  of  these  facts.  Doubt- 
less similar  qualities  are  made  by  other  millers,  but  from  him  I  have  obtained  the  most 
complete  information,  and  for  that  reason  I  name  his  products.  Baking  bread  at  a  high 
heat  sends  off  a  pleasant  smell  and  impairs  the  flavor  in  proportion  as  the  heat  is  exces- 
sive. 


ADDENDA. 


Since  I  first  tried  to  put  the  Aladdin  Oven  into  the  market  in  a  tentative 
manner,  after  having  spent  two  or  three  years  and  a  good  deal  of  money  in  convincing 
myself  that  it  represented  a  fact  and  not  a  fad,  I  have  had  a  very  interesting 
experience  in  partially  overcoming  inertia,  especially  the  inertia  of  woman.  If  I 
were  anything  but  a  man  of  facts  and  figures,  I  might  write  a  very  amusing  article 
upon  "  Great  Expectations,"  as  illustrated  by  the  demands  of  those  who  are  not 
satisfied  when  I  propose  to  roast  in  perfection  a  twenty-eight-pound  sirloin  of  beef 
or  a  thirty-pound  saddle  of  venison,*  over  a  single  Pittsburgh  lamp  of  the 
common  type. 

In  addition  to  what  I  promise  I  have  been  asked  if  I  could  not  warm  the 
kitchen,  heat  all  the  bath  water,  and  run  an  incubator  so  as  to  hatch  the  broilers  as 
well  as  cook  them,  and  do  a  great  deal  of  other  work  with  the  lamp  !  In  fact,  when 
I  have  declined  to  undertake  anything  more  than  to  do  pretty  much  all  the  cooking 
for  a  family  of  eight  or  ten  people  with  one  lamp,  some  of  my  correspondents  have 
responded  as  if  they  thought  I  had  raised  false  expectations  by  naming  the  Oven 
^'  Aladdin." 

About  400  people  have  risked  twenty-five  dollars  each  on  the  experiment  in  the 
purchase  of  an  Aladdin  Oven.  I  have  yet  to  hear  of  the  first  real  failure,  although 
there  have  been  some  difficulties  in  overcoming  the  prejudices  of  the  cooks.  About 
every  other  cook  takes  to  the  oven  at  once,  and  finds  in  it  great  satisfaction  and 
saving  of  labor.  The  others  object  more  or  less  to  its  adoption  in  the  family  and 
fail  in  making  any  satisfactory  use  of  it  except  upon  compulsion. 

One  very  cultivated  woman  who  prefers  to  do  the  work  of  her  small  family 
herself,  has  written  to  me  that  "it  adds  much  to  the  enjoyment  of  her  life  to  be  able 
to  give  little  dinners  or  suppers  to  her  few  chosen  friends,  without  being  obliged  to 
serve  roasted  mistress  as  the  first  course." 

From  the  sale  of  ovens  thus  far  made,  I  might  have  already  recovered  the  cost  of 
my  experiments,  had  it  not  been  for  the  contribution  of  a  number  of  ovens  for 

*NoTB.— One  of  my  friends  in  England  who  dwells  in  a  great  ancestral  hall,  in  which  the  roasting  for  many 
generations  has  been  done  before  an  open  wood  fire,  in  an  open  tin  kitchen  in  which  a  historic  turnspit  keeps  the 
roast  turning  round  and  round  all  the  time  until  it  is  done,  now  roasts  his  oyra  pheasants,  Yenison  and  four- 
year-old  grass-fed  mutton,  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  in  preference  to  the  old  method. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION.  109 

charitable  purposes.  One  of  the  privileges  which  I  find  to  be  connected  with  such 
a  common-place  invention  as  this,  is  that  one  is  expected  to  give  an  oven  to  all  the 
charity  hospitals  and  the  like.  Yet  I  hr.ve  made  a  proiit  corresponding  to  the  lesser 
half,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  of  what  I  have  spent,  and  I  am  now  expending 
this  profit  in  experiments  on  the  Workman^s  Cooking  Pail  or  Shop  GirFs  Oven.  I 
beg  pardon,  I  mean  an  oven  for  the  use  of  Sales  Ladies. 

I  feel  now  assured  that  I  shall  he  able  to  perfect  the  Workman^s  Cooking  Pail 
with  a  lamp  attached,  all  in  one  piece.  This  pail  may  be  charged  with  about  two 
pounds  of  food  of  two  kinds  at  one  time,  and  is  so  constructed  that  it  may  be  easily 
carried  by  the  bail  in  the  hands  of  the  workman  to  the  place  of  his  work.  The 
little  lamp  may  then  be  lighted  so  that  a  hot  dinner  will  be  ready  at  noon  with  a  hot 
pot  of  coffee. 

I  have  already  succeeded  in  making  a  cylinder  oven  to  be  placed  upon  a  tin  table, 
which  can  be  charged  with  three  to  five  varieties  of  food,  amounting  to  about  eight 
to  ten  pounds  at  one  time.  In  this  I  have  also  succeeded  in  baking  good  bread. 
In  this  pail  a  breakfast  for  several  people  can  be  cooked  during  the  night.  A  mid-day 
meal  caa  be  in  process  of  cooking  while  the  sewing  women  or  sales  ladies  are  absent 
at  their  work.  The  supper  can  be  warmed  over,  and  the  water  boiled  for  the  pot  of 
tea  in  the  evening.     Bread  can  also  be  baked  in  the  evening. 

HEATING   WATER    FOR    HOUSEHOLD    USE,    ETC. 

The  oven  is  intended  to  be  used  for  coohing,  but  directions  have  been  given  for 
warming  water  on  the  top.  An  apparatus  for  heating  water  with  a  second  lamp,  or 
for  making  tea  and  coffee,  or  for  washing  dishes,  can  be  purchased  at  a  low  price  at 
any  of  the  shops  where  common  kerosene  oil  stoves  are  kept  for  sale.  Water  for 
circulation  throughout  a  house,  must  be  heated  from  the  water-back  of  the 
cooking  stove,  range,  or  furnace.  If  I  were  to  build  another  house,  I  should  attach 
the  apparatus  for  heating  water  to  my  furnace  for  winter  use,  and  I  should  place  a 
small  water-heater  alongside  for  summer  use,  as  before  stated.  The  kitchen  stove 
which  might  then  be  required  for  warming  the  kitchen,  would  be  a  very  small  affair, 
of  which  the  top  could  be  fitted  for  frying,  for  boiling  water  in  the  tea-kettle 
and  for  some  other  purposes. 

The  merit  of  the  Aladdin  Oven — if  any  it  possesses — as  a  substitute  for  about 
nine-tenths  or  more  of  the  work  of  the  range  or  stove,  is: 

1st.     In  the  saving  of  food  rather  than  of  fuel. 

2nd.     In  saving  excess  of  heat  and  half  the  work. 

3d.     In  saving  the  fine,  natural  flavors  :  food  cooked  a  second  or  even  a  third 


110  THE   SCIEifCE   OF   NUTRITION. 

time  being  generally  as  appetizing  as  when  first  served,  and  in  some  instances  even 
more  so. 

The  Oven  may  be  offered  as  a  very  complete  substitute  for  a  cooking  stove  in 
summer  houses  when  hot  water  for  circulation  through  the  house  may  not  be  re- 
quired. 

The  best  measure  of  the  expenditure  of  oil  which  I  have  been  able  to  make,  was 
during  the  summer  of  1889,  at  my  summer  place  on  Bu^izard's  Bay.  We  have  used  no 
coal  for  two  or  three  years.  A  little  wood  from  my  wood-lot  was  burned  a  part  of  the 
day  in  the  cooking  stove  for  laundry  purposes  and  the  like.  The  cooking  and  the 
lighting  of  the  household  for  one  hundred  days  were  both  done  in  1889  with  seven 
dollars'  worth  of  kerosene  oil,  bought  in  parcels  of  five  gallons  each,  at  fifteen  cents 
a  gallon.  I  computed  the  average  number  of  persons,  ten  ;  number  of  meals,  3,000  ; 
cost  of  fuel  per  meal,  about  a  quarter  of  a  cent  or  less.  I  do  not,  however,  consider 
the  economy  of  fuel  as  of  any  importance  compared  to  the  economy  in  the  use  of 
the  food- material,  and  the  quality  of  the  result  of  the  application  of  heat  under  abso- 
lute control,  in  yielding  appetizing,  nutritious  and  wholesome  conditions. 

CARE    OF    LAMPS. 

The  great  trouble  with  many  of  the  kerosene  lamps  is,  that  in  the  effort  to 
make  them  at  a  low  cost,  they  are  slightly  or  badly  made  ;  therefore  they  are  apt  to 
get  out  of  order.  If  the  demand  for  these  Ovens  should  increase,  special  lamps  may 
be  made  to  meet  the  special  conditions  of  their  use. 

Lamps  should  be  kept  clean — the  burners  and  wick-holder  especially — else  they 
will  not  develop  their  full  power  and  the  food  will  not  be  sufficiently  cooked  in  the 
allotted  time.  I  may  name  the  Pittsburgh  lamp  as  one  which  can  be  easily  kept 
clean  and  in  good  order. 

There  is  a  new  burner  and  also  a  new  wick  about  to  be  put  into  the  market 
which  will  probably  obviate  almost  all  the  trouble  and  difficulty  in  the  use  of 
the  lamp. 

A  stove  lamp  or  heater  to  be  used  as  an  auxiliary  may  now  be  found  on  sale  at 
the  stores  of  the  Central  Oil  Stove  Company  in  New  York,  Chicago,  and  in  Boston, 
at  78  and  80  Washington  street,  which  is  made  like  the  lamj^s  for  illumination, 
having  a  central  duct,  with  a  circular  wick,  assuring  a  practically  perfect  com- 
bustion. *  The  smallest  lamp  of  this  type  has  a  wick  about  eight  inches  in  circum- 
ference ;  it  is  fitted  with  an  iron  chimney,  upon  the  top  of  which  a  considerable 
quantity  of  water  can  be  kept  hot  or  made  to  boil ;  frying  by  immersion  in  hot  fat 
can  be  done  upon  it,  and  other  work  which  it  is  not  expedient  to  put  into  the  Oven. 


THE    SCIENCE   OF    NUTRITION.  Ill 

The  Central  Oil  Stove  Company  now  represents  a  combination  of  nearly  all  the 
makers  of  the  common  kerosene  oil  and  gas  stoves.  These  stoves  may  be  very  useful 
auxiliaries  where  the  main  dependence  is  put  upon  the  Aladdin  Oven.  They  may 
do  their  kind  of  work  in  their  way  extremely  well.  They  are,  however,  subject  to 
the  passage  of  the  heat  and  the  products  of  combustion  of  the  lamps  directly  into 
the  receptacles  where  the  food  is  placci,  which  receptacles  are  ventilated.  They 
may,  therefore,  taint,  scorch  or  dry  the  food,  in  the  same  way  that  it  may  be 
affected  in  the  ordinary  iron  stove,  unless  the  work  is  closely  watched. 

The  point  of  distinction  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  as  compared  to  all  others,  is  that 
the  heat  may  not  be  raised  by  the  common  lamp  which  is  used  with  the  oven  of  the 
Standard  size,  to  any  point  which  will  be  likely  to  scorch  the  food,  if  ordinary  care 
and  common  sense  are  applied  in  putting  the  food  into  the  oven.  The  heat  will 
not  then  be  sufficient  to  distill  the  jfine  flavors  and  send  them  off  in  bad  smells,  while 
the  oven  is  not  ventilated,  except  whea  it  is  used  for  boiling,  because  the  humidity 
derived  from  the  food  itself  make  the  very  best  atmosphere  in  which  it  can  be 
suitably  cooked. 

Much  larger  stove  lamps  of  the  type  named  may  enable  me  to  make  Aladdin 
Ovens  of  larger  sizes,  on  which  experiment  I  am  now  engaged.  The  Standard  size 
is,  however,  quite  large  enough  for  the  average  family. 

Any  intelligent  women  who  can  put  into  this  oven  the  requisite  one  part  of 
gumption  and  one  part  of  food,  may  nourish  themselves  adequately,  changing  the 
bill  of  fare  every  day,  at  not  over  one  dollar  a  week  for  the  cost  of  the  food  and  fuel, 
including  the  tea  and  coffee. 

With  the  aid  of  Mrs.  E,  H.  Richards,  bills  of  fare  for  seven  days,  twenty-one 
meals,  have  been  computed  which  contain  all  the  requisite  elements  of  nutrition  in 
due  proportion,  to  cost  from  one  dollar  to  one  dollar  and  a  half  per  week.  These 
dietaries  have  been  given  elsewhere. 

In  Part  II  will  be  found  a  report  made  by  Mrs.  Mary  H.  Abel,  the  successful  com- 
petitor for  the  Lomb  prize  of  $500,  offered  by  the  American  Public  Health  Associa- 
tion, whose  treatise  may  be  ordered  from  N.  D.  C.  Hodges,  No.  874  Broadway, 
New  York. 

A  '.so  8  report  made  by  Miss  Maria  Daniell,  an  experienced  teacher  of  cooking, 
whose  woxk  was  more  specifically  directed  to  the  invention  of  recipes  and  methods 
of  seasoning  for  box  cooking  in  the  oven  or  pail,  which  may  be  adjusted  to  the 
period  of  five  hours  without  requiring  any  attention  in  the  interval ;  that  being  the 
customary  period  of  a  morning's  work  between  the  hour  of  begi»ning  and  the 
dinner  hour. 


112  THE   SCIENCE   OF   JTUTRITION-. 


THE    ALADDIN    KITCHEN. 


The  ideal  cooking  laboratory  which  I  contemplate  adding  to  my  house  on  the 
north  side,  next  the  present  kitchen,  will  perhaps  be  built  in  the  following  manner : 
Excavate  for  basement  six  feet. below  surface,  lay  drains  inside  and  outside  the  wall, 
fill  up  one  foot  with  broken  stone  covered  with  asphalt  concrete.  Lay  stone  wall 
to  surface  in  cement,  and  four  feet  above  with  brick  laid  in  cement,  inside  course  of 
fire  brick.  On  this  wall  lay  hard  pine  timbers  (vulcanized)  five  feet  on  centers,  which 
may  be  painted  at  once  without  danger  of  dry-rot.  Lay  floor  of  three-inch  spruce, 
grooved  and  splined.  Finish  ceiling  between  the  timbers  with  plaster  board  with  skin 
coat  of  King's  Winslow  cement.  In  this  basement  place  a  water  furnace  for  heating 
the  house  in  winter,  a  water  heater  to  heat  water  for  circulation  in  summer  and  for 
laundry  purposes,  and  fit  up  for  laundry.  One  window  to  be  fitted  for  the  escape 
of  flies. 

THE   KITCHEN    OR   LABORATORY. 

Upon  the  cellar  or  basement  wall  as  described  build  a  superstructure  of  three- 
inch  vulcanized  spruce  plank,  grooved  and  splined.  Cover  in  with  roof  of  the  same, 
resting  on  vulcanized  timbers  five  feet  on  centers,  covered  outside  with  shingles  laid 
over  mortar.  Inside  finish  :  Between  the  roof  timbers  lay  plaster  board  one  inch 
thick  finished  with  cement  plaster ;  on  the  inside  of  the  plank  lay  on  porcelain 
tiles  or  lay  up  vitrified  brick  ;  lay  floor  of  tiles  laid  in  cement  very  slightly  pitched 
toward  one  corner  where  there  will  be  a  scupper  for  the  escape  of  water.  All 
corners  rounded  so  that  there  may  be  no  right  angles  in  the  room. 

This  structure  will  be  constructed  on  the  principle  of  slow  burning  construction 
of  heavy  timber  and  solid  wooden  walls  and  roof,  in  the  study  of  which  the  first 
conception  of  the  Aladdin  Oven  arose.  Solid  wood  or  thick  slabs  of  incombustible 
wood  pulp  are  the  best  available  non-heat  conductors  for  use  in  building  cook- 
ing laboratories  or  ovens.  By  avoiding  the  ordinary  cellular  construction  which 
is  set  up  by  the  masters  of  the  art  of  combustible  architecture  we  avoid  the  hidden 
spaces  in  which  rats,  mice,  cockroaches  and  fire  have  free  way,  and  by  using  thick 
wood  and  shingles  laid  over  mortar  we  are  free  from  the  dampness  and  chill  which 
are  generated  by  walls  of  brick  or  stone.  In  the  thick  solid  plank  roof  we  avoid  the 
customary  attic,  which  serves  as  an  oven  in  summer  and  a  refrigerator  in  winter. 
We  also  keep  our  pepper  and  mustard  pots  on  the  sideboard  instead  of  using  them 
as  models  for  the  decoration  of  a  crazy  roof  in  the  "  Queen  Anne  Style.'' 

The  advantage  of  this  method  of  construction  and  finishing  is  that  the  cleaning 
may  be  done  with  warm  water  containing  a  little  kerosene  oil  forced  through  a  hand 
pump  to  every  part  of  the  room,  then  wash  down  with  cold  "water. 


THE   SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION.  113 

Windows  :  All  of  customary  type  save  one.  The  window  on  the  east  to  be  a 
fly  escape. 

THE    FLY   ESCAPE. 

This  window  consists  of  two  sashes  placed  in  reverse  of  the  customary  method, 
the  top  sash  inside,  the  inner  sash  so  made  of  wood  nearly  flush  with  the  glass  and 
bevelled  to  an  even  point  so  that  the  flies  which  always  walk  upward  on  a  vertical  wall 
or  window  may  walk  out  without  obstruction.  In  order  to  promote  the  escape  of 
flies  especially  in  the  early  morning  when  the  rising  sun  attracts  them,  lower  the 
upper  sash  to  nearly  the  middle  of  the  glass  in  the  lower  sash  ;  which  should  be  a 
single  plate — of  course  there  would  then  be  an  open  space  between  the  two  plates ; 
draw  down  and  fasten  a  dark  green  curtain  to  the  same  point,  held  so  close  that  the 
flies  cannot  get  behind  the  curtain  ;  close  the  blinds  at  all  the  other  windows.  Flies 
are  early  risers  and  always  desire  to  pay  their  libations  to  the  morniug  sun ;  it  is 
a  work  of  charity  to  give  them  an  opportunity.  They  are  also  very  intelligent; 
they  will  go  to  the  lighted  window  pane,  walk  upwards  to  the  open  way  between 
the  two  sashes  and  then  depart.  A  few  perverse  ones  may  remain,  and  for  them  a 
breakfast  of  fly  paper  may  be  laid  in  front  of  the  window. 

LABORATORY   FITTINGS. 

On  the  north  side,  next  the  outer  door  opening  into  a  porch,  place  a  Chase 
Refrigerator,  so  arranged  that  the  ice  can  be  washed  on  a  platform  outside  and  put 
into  the  ice  receptacle  from  without.  The  refrigerator  will  be  in  the  northeast 
corner,  next  the  fly-escape  window.  In  the  southeast  corner  will  be  the  door 
opening  into  the  pantry,  which  is  now  connected  with  the  present  kitchen.  In  fly 
time  the  pantry  door  will  be  left  open  at  night  so  as  to  open  the  way  for  flies  to  go 
to  the  fly  escape.  At  the  left  of  the  outer  door  on  the  north  side  will  be  a  large 
marble  table  or  wide  shelf  with  one  marble  shelf  above.  On  this  table  all  food  will 
be  prepared.  It  will  be  very  slightly  pitched  to  the  rear  and  toward  one  end,  and 
will  be  protected  at  the  back  by  a  concave  strip  of  marble  attached  with  cement. 
At  one  end  will  be  a  water-tap,  at  the  other  a  scupper  hole  of  large  size,  through 
which  all  refuse  may  be  washed  into  an  open  removable  bucket. 

At  the  westerly  end  will  be  open  shelves  of  vulcanized  hard  wood  for  dishes 
and  other  apparatus,  beneath  and  a  little  above  the  floor  level  a  platform  for  metal 
ware  protected  with  sheet  copper.  JSTo  doors  and  no  cupboards  will  be  placed  against 
the  inside  or  south  wall.  A  small  iron  heater  with  four  holes  for  cooking  vessels  on 
the  top  and  a  place  for  a  hooded  grill  ventilated  into  the  chimney,  to  be  heated  with 
charcoal  or  coke  if  gas  is  not  available.     Next,  a  tin-lined  copper  boiler  with  hooded 


114  THE   SCIEN^CE    OF   NUTKITION". 

escape  for  steam  above  it,  to  be  heated  by  gas.  Next,  a  Case  Bread  Eaiser.  Next, 
a  suitable  gas  or  kerosene  stove.  Finally  as  many  Aladdin  Ovens  and  Cooking  Pails 
as  may  be  required  for  use  in  Laboratory  practice.  One  for  roasting  meats.  One 
for  cooking  vegetables,  stewing  or  simmering.     One  for  baking  bread. 

At  this  point  ends  the  first  lesson  in  the  Science  of  Nutrition  which  has  been 
developed  in  a  purely  empirical  manner  by  the  undersigned, 

EDWARD  ATKINSON. 
Broohline,  Massachusetts,   U.  8.  A.,  August  1891. 

June,  1895. 

In  the  last  four  years  I  have  continued  my  desultory  and  empirical  practice,  and  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  scientific  cooks  (and,  may  I  venture  to  whisper  it,  some  of 
the  teachers  of  cooking  as  well),  are  governed  by  the  same  conditions  that  affect  other 
blanches  of  science,  moving  from  simple  ways  and  crude  methods  to  complex  ways  worked 
out  with  troublesome  apparatus  and  great  waste  of  time  and  attention.  The  end  is  not 
■reached  until  we  get  rid  of  the  complex  apparatus  and  return  to  simple  rules,  with  the 
same  and  often  better  results.  I  have  taken  muny  complex  recipes  from  various  standard 
cookery-books,  of  which  the  materials  seemed  appetizing,  then  disregarding  all  the  instruc- 
tions for  separate  treatment,  I  have  put  these  materials  all  together  into  a  jar  or  pan  — 
sometimes  closed,  sometimes  open  —  then,  placing  the  compound  in  the  oven,  I  have 
trusted  the  lamp  to  do  tlie  rest.  The  results  have  almost  always  justified  my  confidence, 
often  very  much  to  the  surprise  of  very  skilful  cooks.  I  cordially  recommend  many  of  the 
recipes  for  such  experiment,  which  will  be  found  in  the  "  Creole  Cookery  Book,"  edited  by 
the  Christian  Woman's  Exchange,  New  Orleans.  T.  H.  Thompson,  jmnter,  36  Natchez 
Street. 

I  will  give  the  details  of  but  one  experiment  out  of  many.  Returning  home  one  day, 
at  the  time  when  I  was  testing  a  glass  oven,  I  found  on  the  table  the  cold  remnants  of  the 
family  lunch.  Two  bones  of  sirloin  steak  with  some  of  the  tough  flank  attached ;  some 
cold  baked  potatoes  ;  a  little  cold  meat  soup  ;  green  remnants  of  celery ;  two  or  three  slices 
of  cold  toasted  bread,  very  dry  ;  a  little  cold  macaroni.  I  called  upon  the  cook  to  slice  two 
small  onions  and  one  turnip.  I  then  went  to  the  sideboaixl,  mixed  some  Paprika  (Hunga- 
rian) pepper,  salt  and  olive  oil,  with  a  little  sherry.  I  went  to  the  closet,  where  I  found  a 
large  vegetable  dish  in  which  Smyrna  raisins  had  been  kept,  of  which  there  was  perhaps 
a  greatspoonful  left  —  these  I  left  in  the  dish.  I  then  })ut  these  materials  together  (nearly 
all  of  which  would  have  been  wasted),  added  hot  water  enough  to  cover,  dredged  in  a  little 
flour,  and  stirred  up  the  compound.  The  whole  process  took  ten  minutes.  I  then  placed 
the  covered  dish  under  the  glass  oven,  and  left  the  lamp  to  do  the  rest  in  five  hours.  The 
result  was  a  potage  of  which  every  scrap  except  the  bone  was  consumed  with  hearty  ap- 
proval. 


4 

J 


ADDITIONAL   SUGGESTIONS. 


I  now  desire  to  make  a  few  additional  suggestions  for  overcoming  the  partial  failures. 
This  undertaking  must  now  be  made  to  pay  those  who  make  the  ovens  in  a  commercial 
sense  if  it  has  come  to  stay.  Otherwise  it  must  be  left  to  the  same  fate  that  befell  Count 
Rumford's  efforts.  Upon  lately  reviewing  Ms  works  more  fully  than  I  had  before,  I  find 
that  I  have  been  led  by  the  logic  of  the  case  to  become  an  unconscious  plagiarist  even  in 
my  statements,  while  I  have  only  applied  in  practice  the  rules  which  he  laid  down  more 
than  a  century  ago  ;  we  now  possess  advantages  in  materials  for  the  construction  of  ovens 
and  in  liquid  and  gaseous  fuel  which  he  did  not  possess.  I  can  claim  no  scientific  knowl- 
edge of  my  own,  but  may  perhaps  possess  a  fau*ly  scientific  method  in  putting  into  practice 
the  ideas  and  rules  which  my  scientific  friends  have  so  freely  imparted  to  me. 

Suggestion  No.  1. — I  may  attribute  some  partial  failures  to  raise  the  heat  in  the 
oven  to  a  point  that  will  crisp  and  brown  the  fat  of  beef  and  give  an  aesthetic  appearance 
to  the  basting  of  fowls,  to  the  possibility  that  in  some  of  the  earlier  ovens  the  packing  of 
loose  material  which  is  interposed  between  the  plate  of  indurated  fibre  and  the  metal  lining 
of  the  outer  oven  may  be  shaken  down  in  the  course  of  transportation,  so  that  the  non- 
heat-conduction  of  the  upper  half  of  the  oven  has  been  insufficient  —  this  danger  has  since 
been  guarded  against.  In  such  cases,  cover  the  top  and  sides  of  the  oven  half  way  down 
with  a  "  cosey  "  made  from  an  old  blanket  or  felt  tablecloth. 

This  difficulty  can  be  overcome  by  the  use  of  a  more  powerful  lamp.  Unfortunately 
there  is  no  lamp  between  the  common  lamp  carrying  a  wick  one  and  a  half  inches  in 
diameter  and  one  fitted  with  a  wick  three  inches  in  diameter,  which  I  call  the  "  Jumbo  " 
lamp.  ■-  One  of  the  very  best  types  of  this  latter  kind  (as  well  as  other  most  excellent 
varieties)  is  made  by  the  Pittsburgh  Brass  Co.,  and  is  sold  under  the  name  of  "  Mammoth." 
With  this  lamp  the  work  of  the  oven  can  be  done  as  quickly  and  as  effectually  as  in  the 
highly  heated  oven  of  the  iron  cooking  stove,  but  it  calls  for  judgment  and  discretion  in 
its  application  else  the  same  injurious  effects  of  high  heat  will  result.  It  may  be  worked 
at  full  power  at  the  beginning  and  then  lowered  for  the  continuance  of  the  work  of  cook- 
ing at  a  less  temperature. 


116  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

Suggestion  No.  2.  —  The  heating  and  cooking  power  of  the  common  lamp  can  be 
increased  by  diminishing  the  size  of  the  opening  in  the  bottom  of  the  outei'  oven  thiough 
which  the  heat  passes,  from  four  inches  to  two  and  a  half  inches,  so  as  to  leave  only  a 
space  of  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch  around  the  top  of  the  lamp  chimney,  which  must  be 
placed  as  close  to  the  opening  as  is  consistent  with  the  clear  burning  of  the  lamp,  free 
from  smoke. 

This  can  be  done  by  placing  the  plate  of  sheet  iron  now  sent  in  each  oven  against  the 
back  of  the  outer  oven  when  slipped  under  the  inner  oven,  so  as  to  bring  the  two-and-a 
half-inch  opening  in  the  middle  of  the  four  inch  hole. 

The  objection  to  this  smaller  opening  is  that  when  the  door  of  the  outer  oven  is  sud- 
denly or  quickly  closed  it  forces  all  the  air  down  the  chimney  and  puts  the  lamp  out.  For 
that  reason  I  adopted  the  larger  opening  in  making  the  ovens,  which  is  so  large  as  not  to 
be  liable  to  this  annoyance,  but  it  also  admits  more  cool  air.  A  very  small  space  around 
the  chimney  top  suffices  for  the  escape  of  the  products  of  combustion,  and  the  smaller  the 
space  the  more  effectual  the  retention  of  the  heat  in  the  oven. 

Suggestion  No.  3.  —  Place  the  oven  out  of  the  way  of  currents  of  air.  Their  ill 
effect  is  not  so  much  in  cooling  the  surface  of  the  oven  as  it  is  in  forcing  too  much  cool 
air  into  it  through  the  four-inch  opening  over  the  lamp. 

Suggestion  No.  4.  —  Those  who  have  not  the  Case  Bread  Raiser  will  find  that 
yeast  bread  may  be  raised  by  placing  the  dough  in  a  covered  pan  upon  the  top  of  the 
oven  when  it  is  in  use  for  other  purposes.  Under  ordinary  conditions,  the  sponge  will 
be  ready  for  baking  in  three  to  four  hours. 

Suggestion  No.  5.  —  Those  who  are  content  to  wash  dishes  in  tepid  water  im- 
pregnated with  a  very  little  kerosene  oil,  may  warm  all  the  water  requii'ed  in  a  vessel  made 
of  tin  fitted  on  the  bottom  with  a  tube  closed  at  the  end  that  will  pass  down  into  the  inner 
oven  about  half  way,  through  the  ventilating  orifice  from  which  the  cap  has  been  re- 
moved. I  do  not  find  this  ventilator  necessary  in  the  processes  of  cooking,  but  it  is  con- 
tinued for  this  purpose  and  for  the  convenience  of  those  who  desire  to  make  use  of  ther- 
mometers in  experimental  work.  Suitable  thermometers  can  now  be  supplied  at  a  cost  of 
three  dollars. 

This  ventilator  also  serves  to  render  the  browning  of  meats  more  certain  if  it  is 
opened  half  an  hour  before  the  food  is  served. 

I  recommend  washing  silver  or  plated  ware,  especially  knives  with  ivory,  bone,  or 
composition  handles,  in  cold  water  with  a  dash  of  kerosene  oil  in  it.  Injury  to  knife 
handles  may,  I  believe,  be  mainly  attributed  to  washing  them  in  hot  water  with  soap. 


1 


THE    SCIENCK    OF    NUTRITION.  117 

Suggestion  No.  6.  —  Very  slow  night  cooking  can  be  done  with  the  greatest  as- 
surance of  safety,  and  total  freedom  from  liability  to  smoke,  by  procuring  a  suitable  hand- 
lamp  fitted  with  a  Trench  burner,  from  Jones,  McDuffee  &  Stratton,  Boston  and  Chicago. 
This  truly  scientific  burner  gives  absolute  assurance  that  the  oil  in  the  font  will  not  be  heated 
sufiiciently  to  make  it  more  volatile  while  it  is  burning.  The  lamp  may  be  suddenly  ex- 
tinguished when  burning  at  full  height,  the  chimney  removed,  and  the  lamp  lifted  by  taking 
hold  of  the  metal  wick  holder  between  the  thumb  and  finger.  This  invention  will  soon  be 
applied  to  the  central  duct  or  round-wick  lamps  by  which  the  power  and  steadiness  of  the 
.flame  will  be  much  increased. 

The  flat-wick  lamps  are  now  for  sale  with  wick  ranging  from  half  an  inch  to  one  and 
a  half  inches  in  width.     More  heat  is  generated  by  the  duplex-wick  holder. . 

The  wick  for  slow  work  in  the  Standard  Oven  should  be  the  one-and-a-half-inch  size, 
which  fits  the  B  and  D  Collars  —  D  wick.  A  duplex  burner  of  one-and-a-half-inch  wicks 
is  also  made,  which  gives  nearly  as  much  heat  as  the  central  duct  lamp. 

HEATING    THE    KITCHEN    OR    OTHER    PARTS    OF    THE    HOUSE. 

The  main  objections  which  have  been  made  to  the  introduction  of  the  Aladdin  Oven 
into  the  kitchen  of  the  average  household  is  that  since  a  stove  must  be  made  use  of  to  heat 
the  room  and  to  warm  water  for  washing  dishes  and  for  circulation  for  bathing  purposes, 
that  same  stove  may  as  well  be  applied  to  the  processes  of  cooking.  This  reasoning  is 
bad  if  I  am  justified  in  saying  that  no  iron  stove  can  be  made  suitable  for  scientific  cook- 
ing, and  to  this  radical  proposition  I  adhere. 

My  reply  to  the  other  objection  is  as  follows:  Hot  water  is  not  necessary  to  washing 
dishes.  I  have  given  instructions  for  the  use  of  tepid  water  with  kerosene  oil  for  the  re- 
moval of  grease  from  dishes  —  a  more  effective  and  better  process-cleaner  in  every  respect 
than  washing  with  hot  water  and  soap. 

If  hot  water  is  wanted  in  moderate  quantities  it  can  be  readily  supplied  by  placing  an 
auxiliary  kerosene-oil  stove  of  the  ordinary  type,  that  can  be  bought  for  a  very  small  sum, 
alongside  the  Aladdin  Oven.  The  apj^aratus  for  circulating  hot  water  through  the  house 
can  be  as  well  attached  to  the  furnace  in  the  cellar  as  to  the  range,  and  if  hot  water  is  re- 
quired during  the  summer  it  will  be  found  to  be  an  advantage  to  have  it  heated  in  the 
cellar  by  a  small  heater  alongside  the  furnace,  which  will  tend  to  keep  the  cellar  dry  and 
to  promote  a  circulation  of  air  in  it.  But  I  should  not  impart  all  the  information  that  I 
ought  to  in  this  treatise  if  I  did  not  name  a  new  method  of  heating  any  room  in  any  part 
of  the  house  by  what  is  now  known  as  the  St.  Louis  Heater,  invented  by  one  of  my  neighbors 
in  the  town  of  Brookline,  Mr.  William  S.  Stuyvesant,  to  whom  missives  may  be  sent  ask- 
ing for  circulars,  diagram  and  description,  or  to  Box  3170,  Boston. 

This  heater  consists  of  two  or  three  central-duct  kerosene   oil,  lamps  combined  in  an 


118  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

apparatus  by  which  the  products  of  the  combustion  of  the  lamps  are  carried  outwardly 
whUe  the  outer  air  is  heated  on  the  way  into  the  room.  It  can  be  placed  in  any  window 
anywhere,  and  the  heater  of  two-lamp  power  wUl  warm  a  room  of  ordinary  size.  A  heater 
of  three-lamp  power  will  warm  a  large  room.  I  have  no  interest  in  this  heater.  When  I 
first  heard  of  it  I  thought  Mr.  Stuyvesanfc  must  claim  more  than  he  could  substantiate,  but 
I  have  adopted  the  heater  in  my  own  library  in  preference  to  every  other  method. 

The  furnace  heat  is  shut  off  in  winter  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  the  room  is  aired 
and  the  lamps  are  lighted  pending  my  return.  The  room  is  heated  during  the  evening 
with  sufficient  warm  outer  air.  The  preference  of  the  family  for  that  room  is  marked 
over  any  other  in  the  house. 


PART  II. 

THE   SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION. 


The  scientific  part  of  this  work  will  now  be  presented.  In  the  first  part  my 
own  experience  has  been  given.  I  first  recognized  the  profound  relation  of  the 
food  question  to  all  the  processes  of  industry  as  the  most  important  element  in 
social  science  when  dealing  with  it  many  years  since  in  a  very  practical  way.  It 
became  incumbent  on  me  to  make  life  easier  for  a  very  large  number  of  factory 
operatives  who  were  employed  in  a  large  but  isolated  factory  which  was  under  my 
charge,  on  whom  a  population  of  about  2500  depended  at  a  time  when  we  were 
forced  by  the  high  and  variable  prices  of  cotton,  and  by  the  fluctuations  of 
depreciated  paper  money  to  run  only  four  days  a  week.  In  this  way  I  was  gradually 
led  from  theoretic  and  mainly  statistical  observations  to  attempt  to  give  a  practical 
direction  to  this  work. 

It  may  have  been  observed  that  at  the  beginning  of  my  study  of  cookiug  it  was 
somewhat  difficult  to  overcome  a  certain  grotesque  aspect  which  was  presented  by 
the  gray-haired  manager  of  factory  and  insurance  company  when  converted  into 
a  cook,  fully  equipped  with  an  apron  and  white  cap  presented  by  the  children,  to 
whom  also  it  was  in  some  senses  grotesque;  but  when  the  chuck-end  of  beef  that  hadn't 
been  cooked  long  enough  to  become  tender  and  appetizing,  was  served  for  dinner,  it 
did  not  seem  so  funny.  The  same  grotesque  aspect  became  more  apparent  when  my 
friends  whom  I  invited  to  dinners  or  suppers,  somewhat  unconsciously  exposed  their 
incredulity,  effusively  remarking  that  they  had  either  eaten  very  heartily  and  had 
spoiled  their  appetites  during  the  day,  or  else  had  wholly  omitted  to  lunch  so  as  to  be 
in  possession  of  such  a  good  appetite  as  would  enable  them  to  devour  the  victuals. 

Yet  more  amusing  and  sometimes  very  grotesque  have  been  the  interviews  with 
many  most  excellent  and  utterly  incredulous  ladies,  who  have  come  to  my  office  in 
the  apparent  expectation  of  meeting  some  one  who  would  be  a  sort  of  combination  of 
Quack  Doctor  and  Head  Steward'  of  a  hotel.  In  such  interviews  it  has  sometimes 
been  very  difficult  to  maintain  a  demeanor  of  dignified  courtesy  and  attention  at 
the  risk  of  very    undue  hilarity.     I    have  often  been  reminded  of  a  remark   of 


120  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTEITION". 

Artemus  Ward,  or  one  of  his  type,  that  "there  is  a  great  deal  of  human  nature  in 
men,  likewise  in  some  women." 

The  time  of  semi-apology  on  the  part  of  a  man  who  had  thus  rashly  invaded 
the  domain  of  woman  has  passed  and  it  gives  me  the  greatest  satisfaction  to 
introduce  the  truly  scientific  work  of  the  women  who  have  come  to  my  support. 

If  any  one  can  name  another  important  lino  of  investigation  in  which  any 
elderly  gentleman  of  an  inquisitive  disposition,  whose  early  education  in 
'^  Amusement  considered  as  a  force  in  Christian  Training,"  (See  Four  Discourses 
by  Kev.  Marvin  K.  Vincent;  Troy,  William  H.  Young,  9  First  street,  1867,)  had  been 
very  much  neglected,  may  get  as  much  actual  fun  as  I  have  in  the  development  of 
this  oven  and  in  the  correspondence  and  interviews  connected  with  it,  it  may  be 
an  aid  to  digestion  to  indicate  the  line  on  which  some  one  else  may  work.  I  have 
not  yet  found  the  other  end  of  this  line  on  which  I  am  working. 

In  order  that  those  who  will  take  the  pains  may  have  the  means  to  carry  on  this 
undertaking,  certain  tables  are  subsequently  given  which  may  be  considered 
approximately  correct,  but  the  student  will  find  them  suggestive  only  until  a  well- 
equipped 

COOKING  LABORATORY 

shall  be  established,  in  which  the  positive  rules  of  the  Science  of  Nutrition  may  be 
more  fully  established. 

The  reports  of  Mrs.  Abel,  Miss  Daniell  and  Mrs,  Richards  are  based  on  most 
valuable  tables,  prepared  by  themselves  or  by  Prof.  William  0.  Atwater  to  whose 
courtesy  I  am  indebted  for  permission  to  reprint  his  work.  The  reader  may  be  referred 
to  the  articles  in  the  Century  Magazine  for  a  most  valuable  and  complete  treatment 
of  matters  which  lie  at  the  very  foundation  of  this  science. 


FOOD    POWER. 


We  may  regard  food  as  the  element  of  life  upon  which  the  power  of  man  to 
sustain  himself  wholly  depends.  Anything  else  can  be  spared,  food  cannot  be. 
Again,  if  the  measure  or  quantity  of  food  is  not  sufficient  and  is  not  rightly  adjusted 
to  the  conditions  of  complete  nutrition,  both  the  manual  and  mental  efficiency  of 
man  will  be  impaired.  If  the  force  which  is  generated  by  the  assimilation  of  food 
is  not  adequate  to  the  complete  support  of  the  workman,  he  will  become  incapable 
of  making  the  product  o.ut  of  which  his  wages  are  paid  in  sufficient  measure  to  re- 
supply  himself  for  the  subsequent  efforts  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  his 
productive  power.  Life  is  a  conversion  of  force,  and  if  the  force  or  food  power 
supplied  to  the  man  is  inadequate  or  incomplete,  the  right  conversion  of  force  can- 
not go  on. 

It  will  be  found  that  the  rates  of  wages  in  different  countries  vary  as  the  supply 
of  food  is  abundant  or  scanty.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we  find  that  the  rate  of  wages 
is  highest,  or  in  other  words  the  effective  earning  or  productive  power  of  man  is 
greatest  in  the  United  States,  where  the  supply  of  food  is  most  abundant.  Austra- 
lia and  New  Zealand  may  also  be  named  as  places  where  a  small  population  is  able 
to  produce  for  itself  the  most  abundant  supply  of  food  and  where  the  wages  or 
earnings  are  very  high. 

Next  in  the  abundance  of  the  food  supply  comes  Great  Britain,  and  in  Great 
Britain  again  we  find  the  highest  rate  of  wages  outside  of  the  United  States  and  the 
British  Colonies  already  named. 

Next  in  order  follow  Holland,  France,  Germany,  Belgium,  Italy,  Austria,  and 
Russia  in  Europe.  In  each  of  these  countries,  in  the  order  named,  the  supply  of 
food  lessens  as  compared  to  the  other;  either  because  the  land  is  poorer  is  cultivated 
without  the  best  mechanism,  or  because  a  very  large  share  of  the  product  is 
diverted  for  the  support  of  great  armies  so  that  the  remainder  becomes  insufficient. 

Finally,  when  we  pass  into  Asia  we  find  the  supply  of  food  only  equal  to  a 
bare  subsistence  and  correspondingly  very  low  rates  of  wages  prevail.  How  far  one 
factor  may  be  taken  as  an  antecedent  or  consequent  of  the  other  will  not  be  discussed 
in  this  treatise. 

This  reference  to  the  very  far-reaching  nature  of  the  food  question  with  which 
we  are  dealing,  is  made  only  as  an  introduction  to  the  following  tables  and  statements 


122  THE   SCIElfCE   OF   NUTRITION^. 

which  have  been  prepared  and  selected  by  Mrs.  Ellen  H.  Eichards  in  order  to  show: 
First,  why  food  is  required;  Second,  how  much  is  needed;  Third,  of  what  it  should 
consist;  Fourth,  at  what  cost  it  can  be  procured;  and  Fifth,  how  to  tell  when 
enough  food  of  the  right  varieties  has  been  consumed. 

Mrs.  Eichards  deals  with  the  subject  in  the  following  terms,  incorporating  tables 
from  different  sources: 

The  animal  body  is  a  living  machine,  capable  of  doing  work, — raising  weights, 
pulling  loads,  and  the  like.  The  work  of  this  kind  which  it  does  can  be  measured 
by  the  same  standard  as  the  work  of  any  machine,  i.  e.  by  the  mechanical  unit  of 
energy — the  foot-ton.  The  power  to  do  mechanical  work  comes  from  the  consump- 
tion of  fuel,  the  burning  of  wood,  coal  or  gas;  and  this  potential  energy  of  fuel  is 
often  expressed  in  units  of  heat  or  Calories,*  a  Calorie  being  nearly  the  amount  of  heat 
required  to  raise  two  quarts  of  water  one  degree  Fahrenheit.  The  animal  body 
also  requires  its  fuel,  namely  food,  in  order  to  do  its  work  or  its  thinking  or  even 
its  worrying. 

But  the  animal  body  is  more  than  a  machine,  it  requires  not  only  fuel  to  enable 
it  to  work,  but  to  live  even  without  working.  About  one-third  of  the  food  eaten 
goes  to  maintain  its  life,  for  while  the  inanimate  machine  is  sent  periodically  to  the 
repair-shop,  the  living  machine  must  do  its  own  repairing  day  by  day  and  minute 
by  minute.  Hence  it  is  that  the  estimations  of  the  fuel  and  repair-material  needed 
to  keep  the  living  animal  body  in  good  working  and  thinking  condition  are,  in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge  somewhat  empirical,  but  it  is  believed  that  within 
certain  wide  limits  useful  calculations  can  be  made  by  any  one  willing  to  give  a  little 
time  and  thought  to  the  subject.  Our  knowledge  may  be  rapidly  increased  if  such 
study  is  made  in  many  localities  and  under  many  varying  circumstances. 

To  afford  a  stimulus  to  such  study  the  following  tables  are  given  as  illustrations 
only  of  what  may  be  found  in  the  various  works  on  the  chemistry  of  food  and 
nutrition.  The  student  is  especially  referred  to  the  articles  by  Professor  W.  0.  At- 
water  in  the  Century  Magazine  for  May,  June,  July  and  September,  1887,  and 
January  and  May,  1888.  By  the  courtesy  of  the  publishers  with  the  consent  of  the 
author  several  of  the  subsequent  tables  have  been  copied  from  these  articles. 

*A  Calorie  is  equiyalent  to  about  1.53  foot-tone. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION.  123 

QUANTITY  OF  FOOD  NEEDED  DAILY  IN  OKDER  THAT  THE  HUMAN 
BODY  MAY  KEEP  ITSELF  IN  GOOD  WORKING  CONDITION. 

Pages  123-144  and  147-149  are  mostly  quoted,  witli  sliglit  alterations,  from  articles  by  Professor  Atwater,  iji  Vol.  I 
of  "  The  National  Medical  Dictionary  "  and  "  The  Century  "  magazine,  1887  and  1888. 

WATS   IN   WHICH   MATERIALS   ARE    USED    IN   THE    BODY. 

Protein  forms  tissue  (muscle,  tendon,  etc.,  and  fat)  and  serves  as  fuel,  j    ^^®^^  energy  m 

Fats  form  fatty  tissue  (not  muscle,  etc.)  and  serve  as  fuel,  i-      form    of    heat 

Carbohydrates  are  transformed  into  fat  and  serve  as  fuel,  '       ^^^    muscular 


J       strength. 

Have  various  ac- 
tions    upon 


Alcohol  does  not  form  tissue,  but  does  serve  as  fuel, 
Tea  and  coffee  (thein,  cafEein)  do  not  form  tissue,  do  not  serve  as  fuel, 
Extractives   (meat-extract,   beef-tea)   do  not  form  tissue,   do  not  serve    T      brain     and 
as  fuel,  j       nerves. 

In  being  themselves  burned  to  yield  energy  the  nutrients  protect  each  other 
from  being  consumed.  The  protein  and  fats  of  body-tissue  are  used  like  those  of 
food.  An  important  use  of  carbohydrates  and  fats  is  to  protect  protein  (muscle^ 
etc.)  from  consumption. 

STANDARDS  FOR  DAILY   DIETARIES   FOR   PEOPLE  OF   DIFFERENT   CLASSES. 

The  demands  of  different  people  for  nutrients  in  the  daily  food  vary  with  age^ 
sex,  occupation,  and  other  conditions,  including  especially  the  widely-differing 
characteristics  of  individuals.  The  standards  in  table  IV.,  herewith,  are  intended 
to  represent,  roughly,  the  needs  of  average  individuals  of  the  classes  named.  Nos. 
1,  3,  4,  5,  and  6  are  as  proposed  by  Voit  and  his  followers  of  the  Munich  school  of 
physiologists,  and  are  based  upon  observations  of  quantities  actually  consumed  in  a 
considerable  number  of  cases.  Nos.  7  and  8  are  by  Yoit,  and  based  both  upon 
quantities  consumed  by  individuals  under  experiment  and  upon  observed  dietaries 
of  a  much  larger  number  of  persons  in  Germany.  Nos.  9,  10,  and  11  are  by  Play- 
fair,  and  are  based  mainly  upon  observations  of  actual  dietaries  in  England.  No. 
2  is  calculated  by  the  writer  from  the  data  and  results  used  in  Nos.  1  and  3.  In 
Nos.  13, 13, 14,  and  15,  by  the  writer,  the  data  of  Voit,  Playfair,  and  other  European 
observers  are  taken  into  account,  but  the  conclusions  are  modified  by  the  results  of 
studies  of  a  considerable  number  of  dietaries  in  the  United  States,  where  people, 
wage-workers  especially,  are  better  fed,  do  more  work,  and  receive  higher  wages. 


124 


THE   SCIEIfCE   OF   IfUTRITION". 


Table  IV.* 

STANDARDS  FOE  DAILY  DIETAEIES  FOE  PEOPLE  OF  DIFFEEENT  CLASSES. 


Nutrients. 

Potential 

Protein. 

Fats. 

Carbohydrates. 

Total. 

energy. 

grams. 

grams. 

grams. 

grams. 

calories. 

1 

Children  to  li  years 

28  (20  to  36) 

37  (30  to  45) 

75  (60  to  90) 

140 

765 

2 

Children  2  to  6  years 

55  (36  to  70) 

40  (35  to  48) 

200(100to2.50) 

295 

1420 

3 

Children  6  to  15  years 

75  (70  to  80) 

43  (37  to  50) 

325  (250  to  400) 

443 

2040 

4 

Aged  woman 

80 

50 

260 

390 

1860 

5 

Aged  man 

100 

92 

68 
44 

350 
400 

518 
536 

2475 

6 

Woman  at  moderate  work,  German    . 

2425 

7 

Man  at  moderate  work,  German    .     . 

118 

156 

500 

674 

3055 

8 

Man  at  hard  work,  German    .... 

145 

100 

450 

695 

3370 

9 

Man  with  moderate  exercise,  English 

119 

51 

531 

701 

3140 

10 

Active  laborer,  English 

156 

71 

568 

795 

3630 

11 

Hard-worked  laborer,  English    .     ,     . 

185 

71 

568 

824 

3750 

12 

Women  with  light  exercise,  American. 

80 

80 

300 

460 

2300 

18 

Man  with  light  exercise, t  American  . 

100 

100 

360 

560 

2815 

14 

Man  at  moderate  work,  American  .     . 

125 

125 

450 

700 

3520 

15 

Man  at  hard  work,  American      .     .     . 

150 

150 

500 

800 

4060 

One  pound  avoirdiipois=453.6  grams.    One  ounce=28.S  grams. 

Table  V. 

COMPARISON   OF  DIETAEIES  FOR  CORPULENCE   WITH   OEDINAEY  DIETARIES. 


Banting  system     .    .    , 

Ebstein  system 

Playf air's  standard  for  "  subsistence  diet " 

Playfair's  standard  for  adults  with  moderate  exercise     .    .    . 

Voit's  standard  for  laboring-man  at  moderate  work 

Writer's  standard  for  man  with  light  exercise 

Writer's  standard  for  laboring-man  at  moderate  work     .    .    . 
Poor  sewing-girl,  London;  diet  barely  sufficient  for  subsistence. 

University  professor,  Germany,  very  little  exercise 

Well-to-do  family,  Conn.;  food  actually  eaten 

Mechanics  and  factory  operatives,  Mass.;  food  purchased    .    . 

College  students,  from  northern  and  eastern  U.  S.;  food     (I, 

actually  eaten .    ♦     )  II. 


Nutrients. 

Protein. 

Fats. 

Carbo- 
hydrates. 

Total. 

grams. 

grams. 

grams. 

grams. 

171 

8 

75 

254 

102 

85 

47 

234 

57 

14 

341 

412 

119 

51 

531 

701 

118 

66 

500 

674 

100 

100 

360 

560 

125 

125 

450 

700 

53 

33 

316 

402 

100 

100 

240 

440 

128 

177 

466 

771 

127 

186 

531 

844 

138 

184 

622 

944 

104 

186 

421 

661 

Potential 
energy  in 
nutrients. 


calories. 
1085 
1400 
1760 
3140 
3050 
2815 
8520 
1820 
2325 
4080 
4430 
4825 
3415 


*  Several  of  the  Century  tables  are  omitted,  but  the  same  numbers  are  retained. 
t  Or  woman  with  moderate  work. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF    NUTRITION". 


125 


ACTUAL  DIETAEIES  OF  DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OF   PEOPLE. 

Table  VI.  gives  the  quantities  of  nutrients  and  potential  energy  in  a  number 
of  observed  dietaries.  The  figures  for  European  dietaries  are  mostly  by  Voit  and  his 
followers  in  Germany,  and  by  Playfair  in  England.  The  American  figures  are  by 
the  writer;  those  for  the  army  ^nd  navy  rations  are  based  upon  the  United  States 
Regulations,  the  rest  upon  observations  of  actual  dietaries.* 

Table  VI. 

NUTBIENTS  ANB  POTENTIAL,  ENERGY  IN  DIETABIES   OF   DIFFEEENT   PEOPLE. 


European  and  Japanese  dietaries: 

1.  Sewing-girl,  London— wages  93  cts.  (3s.  9d.)  per  week 

2.  Factory-girl,  Leipsic,  Germany— wages  $1  21  per  week 

3.  Weaver,  England— time  of  scarcity 

4.  Under-fed  laborers,  Lombardy,  Italy— diet  mostly  vegetables    .    . 

5.  Trappist  monk  in  cloister;  very  little  exercise— vegetable  diet    .    , 

6.  Students,  Japan 

7.  University  professor.  Munich,  Germany;  very  little  exercise  .    .    . 

8.  Lawyer,  Munich 

9.  Physicians,  Munich 

10.  Painter.  Leipsic.  Germany 

11.  Cabinetmaker,  Leipsic,  Germany 

12.  "Fully-fed"  tailors,  England 

13.  "  Well-paid  "  mechanic,  Munich,  Germany 

14.  Carpenter.  Munich,  Germany 

15.  ■' Hard- worked  "  weaver,  England  .    .    .    • 

16.  Blacksmith,  England 

17.  Miners  at  very  severe  work,  Germany 

18.  Briokmakers   (Italians  at  contract-work),  Munich 

19.  Brewery  laborer,  Munich;  very  severe  work- exceptional  diet  .    . 

20.  German  soldiers,  peace-footing 

21.  German  soldiers,  war-footing 

22  German  soldiers,  Franco-German  War;  extraordinary  ration     .    . 
TJnited  States  and  Canadian  dietaries: 

23.  French  Canadians,  working  people,  in  Canada 

24.  French  Canadians,  factory  operatives,  mechanics,  etc.,  in  Mass.    . 

25.  other  factory  operatives,  mechanics,  etc.,  Mass 

26.  Glassblowers.  East  Cambridge , 

27.  Factory  operatives,  dressmakers,  clerks,  etc..  b'rd'g-house.  Mass, 

^^    ]    well-to-do  private  family }   ^"^  ^ES    ' 

I-    College  students  from  northern  and  I     [•   pqq(J  eaten  '. 

eastern  States;  boarding-club,  two  V    j    Food  purchased    '. 

J        dietaries  of  the  same  club    ...  I     j-    pood  eaten    .    .    '. 

31.  College  foot-ball  team,  food  eaten 

82.  Machinist,  Boston.  Mass 

33.  Brickmakers,  Middletown,  Conn 

34    Teamsters,  marble-workers,  etc.,  with  hard  work;  Boston,  Mass.  . 

35.  Brickmakers,  Mass , 

36.  U.  S.  army  ration 

37.  U.  S.  navy  ration 


28&. 
29a. 
29&. 
30a. 
306. 


Nutrients. 

Potential 

energy  of 

Protein. 

Fats. 

Carbo- 
hydrates. 

Total. 

nutrients. 

grams. 

grams. 

grams. 

grams. 

calories. 

53 

33 

316 

402 

1820 

52 

53 

301 

406 

1940 

60 

28 

398 

486 

2138 

82 

40 

362 

484 

2192 

68 

11 

469 

548 

2304 

97 

16 

438 

551 

2343 

100 

100 

240 

440 

2324 

80 

125 

232 

427 

2401 

131 

95 

327 

553 

2762 

87 

69 

366 

522 

2500 

77 

57 

466 

600 

2757 

131 

39 

525 

625 

3053 

151 

54 

479 

684 

3085 

131 

68 

494 

693 

3194 

151 

43 

622 

816 

3569 

176 

71 

667 

914 

4117 

133 

113 

634 

880 

4195 

187 

117 

675 

959 

4641 

223 

113 

909 

1245 

5692 

114 

39 

480 

633 

2798 

134 

58 

489 

681 

3093 

157 

285 

331 

773 

4652 

109 

109 

527 

745 

3622 

118 

204 

549 

871 

4632 

127 

186 

531 

844 

4428 

95 

132 

481 

708 

3590 

114 

150 

522 

786 

4002 

129 

183 

467 

779 

4146 

128 

177 

466 

771 

4082 

161 

204 

680 

1045 

5345 

188 

184 

622 

944 

4827 

115 

163 

460 

738 

3874 

104 

136 

421 

661 

3417 

181 

292 

557 

1030 

5742 

182 

254 

617 

1053 

5638 

222 

263 

758 

1243 

6464 

254 

363 

826 

1443 

7804 

180 

365 

1150 

1695 

8848 

120 

161 

454 

735 

.S851 

143 

184 

520 

847 

4998 

♦Comparison  of  the  data  of  tables  IV.,  V.,  and  VI.  Implies  that  the  food  of  people  in  this  country  is  apt  to  be 
considerably  in  excess  of  the  demands  for  nourishment.  The  excess  is  made  up  largely  of  meats,  especially  of 
the  fatter  kinds,  and  of  sweatmeats,  including  sugar. 


standards  for  Daily  Dietaries  and  Actual   Dietaries  of  People  of  Different  Classes. 

WEIGHTS   OF   NUTRIENTS   AND   CALORIES   OF   ENERGY   IN   NUTRIENTS   IN  FOOD   PER  DAY. 


PROTEIN.                                               FATS. 
Lean  of  meat,  casein  of                   Fatty  and  Oily- 
milk,  white  of  egg.                              Matters. 
gluten  of  wheat,  etc^ 

Nutrients,  Grams 

Potential  Energy   Calories 

DIETARY  STANDARDS. 

Subsistence  diet  (Playfair) 

Man  at  moderate  work  (,Voit  i 

Man  at  hard  work  ( Voit) 

Man  with  moderate  exercise  (Playfair) 

Man  with  light  exercise  ( Atwater) 

Man  at  moderate  work  (Atwater) 

Man  at  hard  work  (Atwater) 

ACTUAL  DIETARIES. 

Under-fed  laborers,  Lombardy,  Ita)y 

Students,  Japan 

Lawyer,  Munich,  Germany 

Physician,  Munich,  Germany 

Well-paid  Mechanic,  Munich,  Germany 

Carpenter,  Munich,  Germany 

Well-fed  Blacksmith,  England 

German  soldiers,  peace  footing 

German  soldiers,  war  footing 

French-Canadian  families,  Canada 

Mechanics  and  factory  operatives,  Mass 

Well-to-do  family,  Conn 

College  students,  Northern  and  Eastern  States... 

Machinist.  Boston,  Mass 

Hard  worked  teamsters,  etc.,  Boston,  Mass 

U.  S.  Army  Ration 

U.  S.  Navy  Ratio  i 

W.  O.  Atwater. 


CARBOHYDRATES. 
Sugar,  Starch,  etc. 


potential  energy 
Fuel  Value. 


u)/ational  Medical  Dictionary. 
Reprinted  by  consent. 


AVERAGE    COMPOSITION    OF    SOME    COMMi/N    FOODS. 


Nitrogenous. 


Proteids. 


Water. 


Ash,  etc. 

mmmm 


Carbohydrates. 


Starch. 


Sug-ar. 


Fats, 


90  loo 


.90  lbs- 


Computed  and  Drawn  by  Mrs.  Ellen  H.  Richards. 


128  THE   SCIEifCE   OP   NUTRITION. 

COMPOSITION    OF    SOME    FOOD    MATEKIALS    FKOM    WHICH    THIS 

SUPPLY  IS  DERIVED. 

By  Professor  W.  0.  Atwater. 

COMPOSITION,  DIGESTIBILITY,  AND  POTENTIAL  ENERGY  (FUEL-VALUE)  OF  FOOD- 
MATERIALS,  FUNCTIONS  OF  NUTRIENTS,  DIETARY  STANDARD  AND  ACTUAL 
DIETARIES. 

The  following  tables  and  explanatory  statements  are  an  attempt  to  epitomize 
some  results  of  late  research,  a  considerable  portion  of  which  have  not  yet  become 
current  in  treatises  in  English.*  Those  regarding  digestibility,  potential  energy, 
and  functions  in  nutrients  are  based  upon  experimental  inquiry  in  Europe,  espe- 
cially in  Germany.  The  data  employed  for  the  Tables  of  dietary  standards  and 
actual  dietaries  are  mainly  European,  but  include  a  considerable  number  of  results 
©f  observations  in  the  United  States,  The  figures  for  the  composition  of  food- 
materials  are  taken  from  American  analyses.  The  larger  number  of  the  latter  were 
executed  in  connection  with  investigations  in  behalf  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
and  the  United  States  Fish  Commission,  but  still  await  detailed  publication. 

INGREDIENTS   OF   FOOD-MATERIALS — NUTRIENTS  AND   NON-NUTRIENTS. 

Our  ordinary  food-materials  such  as  meat,  fish,  eggs,  potatoes,  wheat,  etc. 
consists  of — 

Refuse,  as  the  bones  of  meat  and  fish,  shells  of  eggs,  skins  of  potatoes,  and 
bran  of  wheat. 

EdiUe  portion,  as  the  flesh  of  meat  and  fish,  white  and  yolk  of  eggs,  wheat 
flour. 

The  edible  substance  consists  of — 
Water, 
Nutritive  ingredients  or  nutrients. 

The  principal  kinds  of  nutrient   are — 

1.  Protein; 

2.  Fats; 

3.  Carlohydrates; 

4.  Mineral  matters. 


*See  articles  on  the  Chemistry  of  Foods  and  Nutrition  in  the  Century  Magazine  for  1887  and  1888. 


THE   SCIENCE    OF   NUTKITION". 


129 


Water,  refuse,  and  the  salt  of  salted  meat  and  fish  are  called  non-nutrients. 
The  water  contained  in  foods  and  beverages  has  the  same  composition  and  prop- 
erties as  other  water;  it  is,  of  course,  indispensable  for  nourishment,  but  is  not  a 
nutrient  in  the  sense  in  which  the  term  is  here  used.  In  comparing  the  values  of 
different  food-materials  for  nourishment,  the  refuse  and  water  are  left  out  of  account. 


Protein. 


CLASSES   OF   I^UTEIENTS. 

The  following  are  familiar  examples  of  compounds  of  each  of  the  four  prin- 
cipal classes  of  nutrients: 

'  a.     Albuminoids:    e.  g.   albumen  (white  of  eggs);   casein  (curd)  of 
milk;    myosin,  the   basis  of   muscle  (lean   meat);    gluten  of 
wheat,  etc. 
h.     Gelatinoids:  e.  g.  collagen  of   tendons;   ossein  of   bones,  which 
yield  gelatin  or  glue. 

(Meats  and  fish  contain  very  small  quantities  of  so-called 
''extractives."  They  include  kreatin  and  allied  compounds, 
and  are  the  chief  ingredients  of  beef-tea  and  meat-extract. 
They  contain  nitrogen,  and  henoe  are  commonly  classed  with 
protein. 
e.  g.  fat  of  meat;  fat  (butter)  of  milk;  olive  oil;  oil  of  corn,  wheat, 
etc. 

■<  e.  g.  sugar,  starch,  cellulose  (woody  fiber). 

j  e.  g.  calcium  phosphate  or  phosphate  of  lime;  sodium  chloride  (com- 
(  mon  salt). 


Fats.  .    . 

Carlo- 
hydrates. 
Mineral 
matters. 


{ 


It  is  to  be  especially  noted  that  the  protein  compounds  contain  nitrogen,  while 
the  fat  and  carbohydrates  have  none.  The  albuminoids  and  gelatinoids  are  fre- 
quently classed  together  as  proteids.  The  term  "  proteids  "  is  also  used  to  include 
all  the  nitrogenous  ingredients — i.  e.  synonymous  with  protein.  The  average  com- 
position of  these  compounds  is  about  as  follows: 


Carbon, 
Hydrogen, 
Oxygen, 
Nitrogen, 


Protein. 

Fats. 

Carbohydrates 

53  per  cent. 

76.5  percent. 

44  per  cent. 

7       " 

12.0       " 

6       *' 

24       " 

11.5       " 

50       " 

16       " 

None. 

None. 

100  per  cent. 

100. '^p'^r  cent. 

100  per  ccBt. 

130  THE   SCIEISrCE    OF   IfUTRITION. 


POTENTIAL   ENERGY    OF   FOOD. 


In  being  consumed  in  the  body  as  fuel  to  furnish  heat  and  muscular  energy  the 
nutrients  appear  to  replace  one  another  in  proportion  to  their  potential  energy, 
which  is  accordingly  taken  as  a  measure  of  their  fuel-value.  The  energy  is  esti- 
mated in  Calories.  The  Calorie  is  the  heat  which  would  raise  a  kilogram  of  water 
one  degree  centigrade  (or  one  pound  of  water  about  four  degrees  Fahrenheit).  A 
foot-ton  is  the  energy  (power)  which  would  lift  one  ton  one  foot.  One  Calorie  cor- 
responds to  1.53  foot-tons.  A  gram  of  protein  or  a  gram  of  carbohydrates  is 
assumed  to  yield  4.1,  and  a  gram  of  fats  9.3  Calories.  A  given  weight  of  fats  is 
thus  taken  to  be  equivalent  in  fuel-value,  on  the  average,  to  a  little  over  twice  the 
same  weight  of  protein  or  carbohydrates.  The  figures  for  potential  energy  in  Table 
I.  are  calculated  for  each  food-material  by  multiplying  the  number  of  grains  of 
protein  and  of  carbohydrates  in  one  pound  (1  lb.  equals  453.6  grams)  by  4.1,  and 
the  number  of  grams  of  fat  by  9.3,  and  taking  the  sum  of  these  three  products  as 
the  number  of  Calories  of  potential  energy  in  a  pound  of  the  material. 

COMPOSITIOISr    OF   FOOD-MATERIALS. 

Different  specimens  of  the  same  kind  of  food-material  differ  widely  in  compo- 
sition. The  figures  in  Table  I.,  herewith  represent  the  averages  of  analyses,  of 
which  those  of  fruits  and  beverages  are  European  and  the  rest  American. 


i 


SCIENCE    OF    NUTKITION. 


131 


Table  I. 

PERCENTA&ES     OF     NUTRIENTS    (NUTRITIVE     INGREDIENTS),    WATER,     ETC.,     AND     ESTIMATED 
POTENTIAL   ENERGY   (FUEL- VALUE)    IN   SPECIMENS   OF    FOOD-MATERIALS. 


Food-Matbrials. 


Animal  foods  as  purchased,  in- 
cluding edible  portion  and 
refuse: 

Beef,  sidei  . 

Beef,    round! 

Beef,  neck^ 

Beef,  sirloin^ 

Beef,    flanki 

Mutton,   side^ 

Mutton,  legi 

Mutton,  shoulder^ 

Mutton,  loin  (chops) 

Smoked  ham, 

Pork,  very  fat 

Chicken^     .     .     . 

Turkey    .... 

Flounder,  whole 

Haddock,  dressed 

Blueflsh,   dressed 

Brook   trout,  whole 

Codfish,    dressed 

Whitefish,  whole 

Shad,  whole    . 

Turbot,  whole     , 

Mackerel,  fat,  whole. 

Mackerel,  lean,  whole 

Mackerel,  average,  whole 

Halibut,  dressed 

Salmon,  whole     . 

Eel 

Salt  codfish     .     . 

Smoked  herring  . 

Salt  mackerel 

Canned  salmon   . 

Canned  sardines 

Lobsters      .     .     . 

Oysters  in  shell  . 

Hens'  eggs      .     . 
Animal  foods,  edible  portion: 

Beef,  side!  . 

Beef,  round! 

Beef,  sirloin! 

Mutton,  side! 

Mutton,  leg! 

Mutton,  loin  (chops) 


Refuse: 

bones, 

skin, 

Bhells,  etc, 


per  cent. 

19.7 
10.0 
19.9 
25.0 
11.7 
20.0 
18.4 
16.8 
16.3 
14.0 
10.4 
41.6 
35.4 
66.8 
51.0 
48.6 
48.1 
29.9 
53.5 
50.1 
47.7 
33.8 
38.3 
44.6 
17.7 
35.3 
36.0 
42.1 
50.9 
40.4 
4.9 
5.0 
62.1 
82.3 
13.7 


Edible  Portion. 


54.7 
66.7 
60.0 
45.9 
61.8 
49.3 


ler  cent. 

per  oen 

44.0 

36.3 

60.0 

30.0 

49.6 

30.5 

45.0 

30.0 

24.2 

64.1 

42.9 

37.1 

50.4 

31.2 

48.7 

34.5 

41.3 

42.4 

36.3 

49.7 

9.5 

80.1 

42.2 

16.2 

42.8 

21.8 

27.2 

6.0 

40.0 

9.0 

40.3 

11.1 

40.4 

11.5 

58.5 

11.6 

32.5 

14.0 

35.2 

14.7 

37.3 

15.0 

42.4 

23.8 

48.5 

13.2 

40.4 

15.0 

61.9 

20.4 

40.6 

24.1 

33.8 

30.2 

40.3 

17.6 

19.2 

29.9 

28.1 

31.5 

59.3 

35.8 

53.6 

41.4 

31.0 

6.9 

15.4 

2.3 

63.1 

23.2 

45.3 
33.3 
40.0 
54.1 
38.2 
50.7 


per  cent. 
13.8 
20.7 
15.4 
15.0 
10.6 
13.2 
15.0 
15.0 
12.5 
14.6 
2.8 
14.2 
15.4 
5.2 
8.2 


10.6 

10.3 

9.2 

6.8 

12.1 

11.2 

10.0 

15.1 

14.3 

8.6 

16.0 

20.2 

14.7 

19.3 

24.0 

5.5 

1.1 

11.8 

17.2 

23.0 

20.0 

14.7. 

18.3 

15.0 


Fats. 


per  cent. 
21.7 

8.1 
14.3 
14.3 
52.9 
23.2 
15.5 
18.7 
29.3 
34.2 
76.5 

1.2 

5.6 

0.3 

0.2 

0.6 

1.1 

0.2 

3.0 

4.8 

7.5 
10.7 

1.4 

4.3 

4.4 

8.8 
21.0 

0.4 

8.8 
15.1 
15.3 
12.1 

0.7 

0.2 
10.2 

27.1 
9.0 
19.0 
38.7 
19.0 
35.0 


Carbo- 
hydrates. 


per  cent. 


0.1 
0.6 
0.4 


Mineral 
matters. 


per  cent. 
0.8 
1.2 
0.8 
0.7 
0.6 
0.7 
0.7 
0.8 
0.6 
0.9 
0.8 
0.8 
0.8 
0.5 
0.6 
0.7 
0.6 
0.8 
0.7 
0.7 
0.7 
1.0 
0.6 
0.7 
0.9 
1.0 
0.6 
1.2 
0.9 
1.7 
1.2 
5.3 
0.6 
0.4 
0.8 

1.0 
1.3 
1.0 
0.7 
0.9 
0.7 


Calories  of 
potential 
energy  in 

one  pound 
of  each 
material. 


1170 

725 

890 

885 

2430 

1225 

935 

1070 

1470 

1715 

3230 

315 

525 

110 

160 

210 

230 

205 

320 

375 

445 

675 

265 

365 

465 

635 

1045 

315 

745 

910 

1005 

955 

135 

40 

655 

1465 
805 
1175 
1905 
1140 
1755 


1  Prom  well-fattened  animals. 


2  Rather  lean. 


132 


THE   SCIEN"CE   OE    NTJTEITION. 

Table  I. — Concluded. 


Edible  Portion. 

Nutrients. 

Calories  of 

Food-Matebials 

skin, 
Shells,  etc. 

Water. 

potential 

energy  in 

Total. 

Protein. 

Fats. 

Carbo- 
hydrates. 

Mineral 
matters. 

one  pound 
of  each 
material. 

Animal  foods,  edible  portion: 

per  cent. 

per  cent. 

per  cent. 

per  cent. 

per  cent. 

per  cent. 

per  cent. 

Flounder 

84.2 

15.8 

13.8 

0.7 

1.3 

285 

Codfish  

82.6 

17.4 

15.8 

0.4 

1.2 

310 

Mackerel,  fat .... 

64.0 

36.0 

18.2 

16.3 

1.5 

1025 

Mackerel,  lean    .    .     . 

78.7 

21.3 

18.1 

2.2 

1.0 

430 

Mackerel,  average  .     . 

71.6 

28.4 

18.8 

8.2 

1.4 

695 

Salmon 

63.6 
81.7 

36.4 
18.3 

21.6 
8.0 

13.4 
1.7 

6.7 

1.4 
1.9 

965 

Oysters,  fat    ...    . 

345 

Oysters,  lean  .... 

90.9 

9.1 

4.2 

0.6 

1.8 

2.5 

135 

Oysters,  average     .    . 

87.1 

12.9 

6.0 

1.2 

3.7 

2.0 

230 

Hens'    eggs      .... 

73.1 

26.9 

13.7 

11.7 

0.4 

1.0 

760 

Cows'  milk     .... 

87.4 

12.6 

3.4 

3.7 

4.8 

0.7 

310 

Cows'  milk     .... 

90.7 

9.3 

3.1 

0.7 

4.8 

0.7 

175 

Cheese,  whole  milk     . 

31.2 

68.8 

27.1 

35.5 

2.3 

3.9 

2045 

Cheese,  skimmed  milk 

41.3 

58.7 

38.4 

6.8 

8.9 

4.5 

1165 

Butter         

10.0 
10.0 

90.0 
90.0 

1.0 
0.6 

85.0 
84.5 

0.5 

0.4 

3.5 
4.5 

3615 

Oleomargarine    .    .     . 

3585 

1.0 

99.0 

•    • 

99.0 

•   • 

4180 

Yegetable  foods  ; 

Wheat  bread  .... 

32.7 

67.3 

8.9 

1.9 

55.5 

1.0 

1280 

Wheat  flour    .... 

11.6 

88.4 

11.1 

1.1 

75.6 

0.6 

1660 

Graham  flour      .     .     . 

13.0 

87.0 

11.7 

1.7 

71.8 

1.8 

1625 

Rye  flour 

Buckwheat  flour     .     . 

13.1 

86.9 

6.7 

0.8 

78.7 

0.7 

1620 

13.5 

86.5 

6.5 

1.3 

77.6 

1.1 

1620 

13.7 

7.7 

86.3 
92.3 

23.2 
15.1 

2.1 

7.1 

67.4 

68.1 

3.6 
2.0 

1585 

Oatmeal 

1845 

Corn  (maize)  meal  .     . 

14.5 

85.5 

9.1 

3.8 

71.0 

1.6 

1650 

Jiice        

12.4 

2.2 

68.0 

87.6 
97.8 
22.0 

7.4 
0.3 

1,8 

0.4 
0.2 

79.4 
96,7 
19.1 

0.4 
0.8 
0.9 

1630 

1800 

Potatoes^ 

10.0 

395 

Potatoes     

75.5 

24.5 

2.0 

0.2 

21.3 

1.0 

440 

Sweet  potatoes   .    .    . 

75.8 

24.2 

1.5 

0.4 

21.1 

1.2 

435 

91.2 
87.9 
90.0 

8.8 
12.1 
10.0 

1.0 
1.0 
1.9 

0.2 
0.2 
0.2 

6.9 

10.1 

6.2 

0.7 
0.8 
1.2 

155 

215 

Cabbage     

170 

95.2 
84.8 
83.0 
73.1 

4.8 
15.2 
17.0 
26.9 

1.1 

0.4 
0.4 
1.9 

0.6 
0.6 

2.5 
14.3 
16.3 
23.3 

0.6 
0.5 
0.3 
1.1 

90 

275 

310 

Bananas      

495 

Beverages  : 
Lager  beer      .... 
Porter  and  ale     .     .     . 

90.3 

0.4 

Alcohol. 
2.0 

5.8 

0.2 

88.1 

0.6 

5.1 

6.8 

0.4 

Ehine  wine,  white  .     . 

86.3 

,   . 

.    . 

9.3 

2.3 

0.2 

Rhine  wine,  red  .    .    . 

86.9 

.    . 

8.1 

3.0 

0.3 

French  wine,  claret     . 
Sherry  wine    .... 

88.3 
79.5 

•    • 

8.0 
17.0 

2.3 
3.2 

0.2 
0.3 

lAs  purchased,  including  refuse,  skin,  etc. 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 


133 


DIGESTIBILITY   OF   FOODS. 

Table  II.  epitomizes  the  results  of  some  sixty  experiments,  mostly  with  men, 
but  a  few  with  children,  in  which  the  proportions  of  the  ingredients  of  food- 
materials  actually  digested  have  have  been  found  by  comparison  of  amounts  and 
composition  of  the  food  eaten  with  those  of  the  undigested  excreta.  Table  III.  is 
computed  by  applying  the  data  obtained  by  these  experiments  to  some  of  those  for 
the  composition  of  food-materials  in  Table  I. 


Table  IL 
Digestibility  of  nutrients  of  food-matekials. 


Of  the  total  amounts  of  protein,  fats,  and 

carbohydrates,  the  following  percentages 

were  digested. 

In  the  Food-Matebials  Below. 

Protein. 

Fats. 

Carbo- 
hydrates. 

Meats  and  fish 

Practically  all. 

79  to  92 

Eggs 

96 

Milk 

88  to  100 

93  to  98 

? 

Butter 

98 

Oleomargarine 

.... 

96 

Wheat  bread 

81  to  100 

? 

99 

Corn  (maize)  meal 

89 

? 

97 

Rice 

84 

? 

99 

Pease . 

86 

? 

96 

Potatoes 

74 

? 

92 

Beets 

72 

? 

82 

134 


THE  SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION. 


Table  III. 

PBOPOETIONS     OF     NUTBIENTS    DIGESTED     AND    NOT    DIGESTED     FBOM     FOOD-MATEKIALS     BY 

HEALTHY  MEN. 


PBOTEIN. 

Fats. 

Cabbohtdrates. 

|i 

3 

"5 

§ 

i 

6 

1 

13 

C 

bo 

'■a 

c 

i 

o 

a 

1 

■3 

a 

"ea 

.si 

1 

a 

P 

E-i 

a 

p 

^ 

O 

P 

1 

sa 

^ 

per  ct. 

per  ct. 

per  ct. 

per  ct.   p 

;r 

3t.    per  ct. 

per  ct. 

per  ct. 

per  ct. 

per  ct. 

per  ct. 

Beef,  round 

23.0 

0.0 

23.0 

8.1 

0. 

9       9.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

1.3 

66.7 

Beef,  sirloin  .     .     . 

20.0 

0.0 

20.0 

17.1 

1. 

9     19.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

1.0 

60.0 

Pork,  very  fat    .    . 

3.0 

0.0 

3.0 

74.5 

6. 

0     80.5 

,    . 

6.5 

10.0 

Haddock    .... 

17.1 

0.0 

17.1 

0.3 

0.3 

6.6 

0.0 

0.6 

1.2 

81.4 

Mackerel    .    .    .  - . 

18.8 

0.0 

18.8 

7.4 

0. 

8       8.2 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

1.4 

71.6 

Hens'  eggs     .    .    . 

13.4 

0.0 

13.4 

9.4 

2. 

4  .  11.8 

0.7 

0.0 

0.7 

1.0 

73.1 

Cows'  milk    .    .     . 

3.4 

0.0 

3.4 

3.6 

0. 

1       3.7 

4.8 

0.0 

4.8 

0.7 

87.4 

Cheese,  whole  milk 

27.1 

0.0 

27.1 

346 

0. 

9     35.5 

2.3 

0.0 

2.3 

3.9 

31.2 

Butter 

1.0 

, 

1.0 

85.8 

1. 

7     87.5 

0.5 

0.5 

2.0 

9.0 

Oleomargarine   .    . 

0.4 

,    , 

0.4 

83.9 

3. 

3     87.2 

0.0 

0.0 

2.1 

10.3 

Sugar 

0.3 

0.3  ! 

.    . 

.   , 

96.7 

6.6 

96.7 

0.8 

2.2 

Wheat  (  ^^^?.^°®    • 
"'i^^*^  }  medium    . 

7.6 

i.3 

8.9  ' 

1.0 

1.0 

74.4 

0.8 

75.2 

0.3 

14.6 

9.5 

2.1 

11.6 

0.8 

0.8 

70.4 

1.8 

72.2 

0.4 

15.0 

(  coarse,  whole  wh 

8.2 

2.7 

10.9 

1.8 

1.8 

66.4 

5.3 

71.7 

1.2 

14.4 

Wheat,  bread  average     . 

7.7 

1.2 

8.9 

1.9 

1.9 

54.9 

0.6 

55.5 

1.0 

32.7 

Black  bread 

4.5 

1.6 

6.1 

.    . 

43.3 

5.3 

48.6 

1.5 

43.8 

Pease     

19.7 

3.2 

22.9 

1.8 

1.8 

55.7 

2.1 

57.8 

2.5 

15.0 

Corn  (maize)  meal .    . 

7.9 

1.2 

9.1 

3.8 

3.8 

68.7 

2.3 

71.0 

1.6 

14.5 

Rice 

6.2 

1.2 

7.4 

0.4 

0.4 

78.7 

0.7 

79.4 

0.4 

12.4 

Potatoes 

1.5     0.5 

2.0 

0.2 

0.2 

19.7 

1.6 

21.3 

1.0 

75.5 

Turnips 

0.7     0.8 

1.0 

0.2 

0.2 

5.6 

1.3 

6.9 

0.7 

91.2 

USES  OF  FOOD  IN  THE  BODY. 


Food  supplies  the  wants  of  the  body  in  several  ways.     It  either — 

1.  Is  used  to  form  the  tissues  and  fluids  of  the  body; 

2.  Is  used  to  repair  the  wastes  of  tissue; 

3.  Is  stored  in  the  body  for  future  consumption; 

4.  Is  consumed  as  fuel,  its  potential  energy  being  transformed  into  heat  or 
muscular  energy  or  other  forms  of  energy  required  by  the  body;  or 

5.  In  being  consumed  protects  tissue  or  other  food  from  consumption. 

One  can  hardly  present  the  elements  of  this  case  m  too  many  aspects  and  as  the 
purpose  of  this  treatise  is  to  promote  further  work  on  the  same  line,  various  tables 


THE   SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION.  135 

will  be  given  at  the  risk  of  repetition,  each  one  dealing  with  the  matter  under  a 
different  aspect. 

In  dealing  with  the  Pecuniary  Economy  of  food  in  No.  V  of  the  Century  Arti- 
cles, Prof.  Atwater  makes  the  following  quotation  and  then  proceeds  to  show  what 
true  economy  may  be: 

"  No  one  can  say  that  I  do  not  give  my  family  the  best  of  flour,  the  finest  sugar,  the  very  best  quality  of  meat." 

The  aboye  is  the  boast  of  a  coal  laborer  earning  seven  dollars  a  week.  It  illus- 
trates a  phenomenon  which  I  would  commend  to  the  consideration  of  either  psychol- 
ogists or  students  of  social  science,  or  both.  I  refer  to  the  conceit,  let  us  call  it, 
that  there  is  some  mysterious  virtue  in  those  kinds  of  foods  that  have  the  most 
delicate  appearance  and  flavor  and  the  highest  price;  that  whatever  else  one  has  or 
does  not  have  he  must,  if  possible,  have  this  sort  of  food;  and  that  to  economize  by 
using  anything  inferior  would  be  a  sacrifice  of  both  dignity  and  principle. 

The  quotation,  from  a  description  of  the  life  of  factory  operatives  in  New  Eng- 
land, in  an  article  by  Mr.  Lee  Meriwether,  in  "  Harper^s  Magazine  "  for  April, 
1887,  illustrates  what  I  mean. 

The  cheapest  food  is  that  which  supplies  the  most  nutriment  for  the  least 
money.  The  most  economical  food  is  that  which  is  cheapest  and  best  adapted  to 
the  wants  of  the  user.  But  the  maxim  that  "  the  best  is  the  cheapest "  does  not 
apply  to  food.  The  best  food,  in  the  sense  of  that  which  has  the  finest  appearance 
and  flavor  and  is  sold  at  the  highest  price,  is  not  generally  the  cheapest  nor  the 
most  economical,  nor  is  it  always  the  most  healthful.  The  coal  laborer  who  made 
it  so  much  an  article  of  faith  to  give  his  family  "  the  best  of  flour,  the  finest  sugar, 
the  very  best  quality  of  meat; "  who,  as  Mr.  Meriwether  tells  us,  at  a  time  when 
excellent  butter  was  selling  at  35  cents  a  pound  paid  29  cents  for  an  extra  quality; 
who  spent  $156  a  year  for  the  nicest  cuts  of  meat,  which  his  wife  had  to  cook  before 
six  in  the  morning  or  after  half-past  six  at  night  because  she  worked  all  day  in  the 
factory;  who  spent  only  $108  for  clothing  for  his  family  of  nine,  and  only  173  a 
year  for  rent  in  a  crowded  tenement-house  where  they  slept  in  rooms  without  win- 
dows or  closets;  who  indulged  in  this  extravagance  in  food  when  much  cheaper 
meat  and  in  all  probability  much  less  of  it,  cheaper  butter,  cheaper  flour,  and  other 
less  costly  materials  such  as  come  regularly  upon  the  table  of  many  a  man  of  wealth 
would  have  been  Just  as  wholesome,  just  as  nutritious,  and  in  every  way  just  as 
good  save  in  its  gratification  to  pride  and  palate, — this  man  was  ixinocently  commit- 
ting an  immense  economical  and  hygienic  blunder.  He  was  doing  this  because,  like 
the  very  large  class  of  people  of  whom  he  is  a  type,  he  was  laboring  under  this  con- 
ceit of  which  I  speak. 


136  THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITIO]Sr. 

One  great  difficulty  here  is  the  lack  of  information.  Even  those  who  wish  and 
try  to  economize  in  the  purchase  and  use  of  food  very  often  do  not  understand  how. 
They  consult  carefully  the  prices  they  pay,  but  have  in  general  very  vague  ideas 
about  the  nutritive  values.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  although  the  cost  of  food 
is  the  principal  item  of  the  living  expenses  of  the  large  majority  of  people, — of  all, 
indeed,  but  a  few  of  the  especially  well-to-do,* — and  although  the  health  and 
strength  of  all  are  so  intimately  dependent  upon  their  diet,  yet  even  the  most  intel- 
ligent know  less  of  the  actual  uses  and  value  of  their  food  for  fulfilling  its  purposes 
than  of  those  of  almost  any  other  of  the  staple  necessities  of  life. 

PERCENTAGE    OF   INCOME   EXPENDED    FOR   SUBSISTENCE. 


Families  of 
GERMANY. 

Workingmen, 

Intermediate  class,  *^  Mittelstand,^^ 

Annual  Income. 

1225  to  $300 
450  to    600 

Per  cent,  expended 
for  food. 

62 
55 

In  easy  circumstances,  "  Wohlstand" 

750  to  1100 

50 

GEKAT  BRITAIN. 

Workingmen, 

500 

51 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Workingmen, 

350  to    400 
450  to    600 

64 
63 

it 

600  to     750 

60 

«( 

750  to  1200 

56 

(( 

above    1200 

51 

RATIOS   OF   NUTRITIVE   VALUES   TO    COST. 

The  large  majority  of  the  families  in  this  country  have,  I  understand,  not  over 
$500  a  year  to  live  upon.  More  than  half  of  this  goes,  and  must  go,  for  food. 
Rent,  clothing,  the  cost  of  preparing  the  food  for  the  table,  and  all  other  expenses 
must  be  provided  from  the  rest.  Perhaps  these  statements  apply  less  accurately  to 
farmers,  but  of  wage- workers  in  towns  statisticians  tell  me  they  are  correct. 

To  the  man  with  an  income  of  $5,000  a  year,  it  may  seem  to  make  little  differ- 

*In  his  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labor  of  Massachusetts  for  1884,  Mr.  Carroll  D.  Wright  summa- 
rizes the  results  of  investigations  into  the  cost  of  living  of  people  with  different  incomes,  especially  of  working- 
men's  families,  in  Massachusetts  and  in  Great  Britain,  and  quotes  similar  results  obtained  by  Dr.  Engel  in  Germany. 
Dividing  expenses  into  those  for  subsistence  (food),  clothing,  rent,  fuel,  and  sundries,  the  percentage  of  the 
whole  income  expended  for  subsistence  averages  as  in  the  tabular  statement  herewith.  As  incomes  increase  the 
relative  percentage  of  outlay  for  food  becomes  less  and  that  for  "  sundries  "  greater.  In  the  Massachusetts  and 
Great  Britain  figures  (I  do  not  know  how  it  is  with  the  German,  but  presume  that  the  case  is  the  same,)  no  outlay 
for  intoxicating  liquors  is  included  in  the  allowance  for  subsistence. 


THE   SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION".  137 

■ence  whether  he  pays  20  cents  or  $2  a  pound  for  the  protein  of  his  food;  but  to  the 
one  who  can  earn  only  $500  or  less  a  year  for  the  support  of  his  family,  the  differ- 
ence is  an  important  one.  His  wife  goes  to  the  dry  goods  store  to  buy  a  dress  for 
her  daughter,  and  hesitates  between  a  piece  of  cloth  at  40  cents  a  yard  that  would 
please  her  better  and  one  at  35  that  is  not  so  pretty  but  just  as  durable,  and  is  very 
apt  to  take  the  cheaper  one  because  she  feels  that  she  must.  She  does  not  fall  into 
the  error  of  getting  more  cloth  than  is  needed  and  using  part  of  the  excess  for 
lining  and  throwing  the  rest  away,  nor,  if  she  is  wise,  does  she  try  to  economize  by 
getting  poor  trimmings  and  cheap  thread.  But  when  she  goes  to  the  grocer  or  to 
the  butcher  or  to  the  fish  market  for  food  to  build  up  her  children's  bodies  and  give 
her  husband  and  herself  strength  to  work,  she  often  pays  one  or  two  dollars  a  pound 
for  protein  to  make  muscle  when  she  might  obtain  it  in  forms  equally  wholesome 
and  nutritious  for  from  15  to  50  cents.  The  food  she  buys  is  apt  to  supply  some  of 
the  nutrients  in  excessive  amount  as  well  as  at  needlessly  high  cost,  while  it  fur- 
nishes others  in  insuflBcient  quantity  or  in  unfiitting  forms  and  in  uneconomical 
ways;  and  only  too  often  a  part  of  it  finds  its  way  into  the  drain  or  the  garbage 
barrel  instead  of  being  utilized  for  nourishment. 

Of  course  the  good  wife  and  mother  does  not  understand  about  protein  and  po- 
tential energy  and  the  connection  between  the  nutritive  value  of  food  and  the  price 
she  pays  f  (  r  it,  and  doubtless  she  never  will.  But  if  the  knowledge  is  obtained  and 
put  in  print,  and  diffused  among  those  who  have  the  time  and  training  to  get  hold 
of  it,  the  main  facts  will  gradually  work  their  way  to  the  masses,  who  most  need  its 
benefit. 

A  subj-ftct  that  has  received  but  little  attention  in  this  country,  though  it  is  one 
of  the  many  special  problems  that  are  being  carefully  considered  by  students  of 
social  economy  in  Europe,  is  the  relation  of  the  nutritive  value  of  food  to  its  cost. 
We  purchase  our  food  by  gross  weight  or  measure.  Part  of  it  consists  of  nutritive 
substances,  the  rest  is  made  up  of  water  and  various  materials  which  serve  only  as 
ballast.  In  comparing  different  food-materials  with  respect  to  their  cheapness  or 
dearness  we  are  apt  to  judge  them  by  the  prices  per  pound,  quart,  or  bushel,  with- 
out much  regard  to  the  amounts  or  kinds  of  actual  nutrients  which  they  contain. 
Of  the  different  food-materials  which  the  market  affords  and  which  are  palatable, 
nutritious,  and  otherwise  fit  for  nourishment,  what  ones  are  pecuniarily  the  most 
economical? 

In  a  series  of  studies,  undertaken  at  the  instance  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
I  have  had  occasion  to  examine  into  some  of  these  problems.  A  few  of  the  results 
of  the  inquiry  are  su«imarized  in  Diagrams  VI.  and  YII. 

There  are  various  ways  of  comparing  food-materials  with  respect  to  the  relative 


138  THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 

cheapness  or  dearness  of  their  nutritive  ingredients.  The  best,  perhaps,  consists  in 
simply  comparing  the  quantities  of  nutrients  obtained  for  a  given  sum,  25  cents  for 
instance,  in  the  food  when  purchased  at  market  prices.  Diagram  VI-  gives  a  series 
of  such  comparisons.  They  are  based  upon  the  analyses  of  materials,  obtained 
mostly  in  markets  in  New  York  City  and  in  M^ddletown,  Conn.,  and  upon  the 
retail  prices  paid  for  them.  Along  with  the  quantities  of  nutrients  which  25  cents 
will  buy  are  shown  the  quantities  estimated  to  be  appropriate  for  a  day^s  diet  for  an 
ordinary  man  doing  a  moderate  amount  of  muscular  labor.  Two  such  standards 
are  given — one  proposed  by  Professor  Voit  in  Germany,  and  based  mainly  upon  ex- 
periments and  observations  in  that  country;  the  other  proposed  by  myself.  The 
diagram  shows  the  quantities  of  different  food-materials  which  one  would  get  for  a 
quarter  of  a  dollar;  the  quantities  of  protein  and  fats  and  carbohydrates  contained 
in  them;  and  how  these  amounts  of  nutrients  compare  with  what  an  average  man, 
engaged  in  moderately  hard  muscular  work,  might  be  expected  to  need  to  maintain 
his  body  in  vigorous  condition  and  supply  strength  for  the  work  he  has  to  do. 
Another  way  of  comparing  the  nutritive  value  of  the  food-materials  with  the  cost 
is  by  the  quantities  of  potential  energy  they  contain.  Diagram  VII.  shows  the 
estimated  quantities  of  energy  in  the  nutritive  ingredients  of  the  materials  in  Dia- 
gram VI., — that  is,  the  amount  which  25  cents  would  pay  for.  Still  another  method 
of  comparing  the  actual  expensiveness  of  different  foods  at  the  prices  at  which  people 
buy  them  consists  in  comparing  the  cost  of  the  same  nutrient  in  different  food- 
materials.  Of  the  different  nutrients,  protein  is  physiologically  the  most  impor- 
tant, as  it  is  pecuniarily  the  most  expensive.  For  these  reasons  the  cost  of  protein 
in  different  food-materials  may  be  used  as  a  means  of  comparing  their  relative 
cheapness  or  dearness,  as  is  done  in  Diagram  VII.  The  figures  represent  the  ordi- 
nary prices  per  pound  and  the  corresponding  costs  of  protein,  due  allowance  being 
made  for  the  carbohydrates  and  fats,  the  estimated  costs  of  which  are,  for  the  sake 
of  brevity,  omitted  from  the  table.* 

*  As  explained  In  previous  articles,  the  actually  nutritive  ingredients  of  food  may  be  divided  into  four  classes; 
Protein,  Fats,  Carbohydrates,  and  Mineral  Matters.  Leaving  water  out  of  account,  lean  meat,  white  of  eggs, 
casein  (curd)  of  milk,  and  gluten  of  wheat  consist  mainly  of  protein  compounds.  Butter  and  lard  are  mostly  fats. 
Sugar  and  starch  are  carbohydrates.  The  nutrients  of  meat,  fish,  and  other  animal  foods  consist  mainly  of  pro- 
tein and  fats;  those  of  the  vegetable  foods  are  largely  carbohydrates. 

In  serving  as  nutriment,  the  protein  compounds  which  contain  nitrogen  form  the  basis  of  blood,  muscle, 
tendon,  etc. .  and  are  transformed  into  fat,  and  also  serve  as  fuel  to  supply  the  body  with  heat  and  muscular 
strenicth.  The  fats  of  the  food  are  stored  as  fat  in  the  body  and  serve  as  fuel.  The  carbohydrates  are  trans- 
formed Into  fats  and  serve  as  fuel.  The  potential  enery  in  Calories  (calorie  is  the  equivalent  of  heat  which  would 
warm  about  four  pounds  of  water  one  degree  Fahrenheit)  is  taken  as  the  measure  of  the  fuel-value  of  the  food. 
One  part  by  weight  of  fat  is  equivalent,  in  this  respect,  to  about  two  parts  of  either  protein  or  carbohydrates. 
The  demands  of  different  people  for  nourishment  vary  with  age,  sex,  occupation,  and  other  conditions  of  life. 
Health  and  pecuniary  economy  alike  require  that  the  diet  should  contain  nutrients  proportionate  to  the  wants  of 
the  user.    Of  course  the  difference  in  the  composition  of  different  specimens  of  the  same  kind  of  food-material,  and 


THE   SCIENCE    OF   NUTKITION.  139 


EXPENSIVE   VS.   ECONOMICAL   FOODS. 


Taking  the  diagrams  and  tabular  statements  together,  the  first  thing  that  strikes 
one  is  the  cheapness  of  the  vegetable  as  compared  with  the  animal  foods.  Note,  for 
instance,  Diagram  VI.  and  the  accompanying  figures,  which  show  how  much 
actually  nutritive  material  one  may  have  for  25  cents  in  difEerent  foods  at  ordinary 
prices.  The  quarter  of  a  dollar  invested  in  flour,  meal,  or  potatoes  brings  several 
times  the  quantity  of  nutrients  that  it  does  if  spent  for  meats,  fish,  or  milk.  But 
it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  animal  foods  contain  more  of  the  protein  and  fats, 
which  are  the  most  valuable  food  constituents,  while  the  excess  of  material  obtained 
in  the  vegetable  foods  consists  mainly  or  entirely  of  sugar,  starch,  and  other  car- 
bohydrates, which,  though  very  important  for  nourishment,  are  far  less  valuable, 
weight  for  weight,  than  the  protein  and  fats.  Furthermore,  the  protein  of  the  an- 
imal foods  is  more  easily  and  completely  digestible  than  that  of  the  vegetable  foods. 

The  greater  expensiveness  of  animal  foods  is  brought  out  with  even  greater 
clearness  in  Diagram  YII.  and  in  the  accompanying  figures.  The  quantities  of  po 
tential  energy  in  the  nutritive  material  obtained  for  25  cents  range,  in  the  animal 
foods,  from  160  Calories,  in  the  salmon  at  a  dollar  a  pound,  to  6,800,  in  salt  pork  at 
13  cents  a  pound  ;  while  in  the  vegetable  foods  in  the  tables  the  range  is  from  about 
500,  in  rice  at  8  cents  a  pound,  to  1,200,  in  corn  meal  at  2  cents  a  pound.  The 
standards  for  the  diets  of  an  ordinary  workingman  call  for  from  3,000  to  3,600 
Calories  in  one  day's  food. 

Estimating  the  expensiveness  by  the  cost  of  the  protein,  we  find  this  to  range 
from  8  to  34  cents  a  pound  in  the  vegetable,  and  from  18  cents  to  a  little  over  one 
dollar  in  ordinary  animal  foods — meats,  fish,  milk,  eggs,  etc. — while  in  some  it  is 
much  higher,  thus  showing  the  greater  expensiveness  of  animal  foods  in  another 
way.  The  reason  for  this  higher  cost  is,  of  course,  simple  enough.  Animal  foods 
are  made  from  vegetable,  and  by  a  more  or  less  expensive  process.  The  manufacture 
of  beef  or  milk  from  grass  and  grain  involves  considerable  outlay  for  labor  and  in- 
cidental expenses,  and  the  product  is,  of  course,  much  less  in  quantity  than  the 
raw  material. 

If  the  reader  is  interested  in  such  statistics  he  will  find  considerable  food  for 
reflection  in  the  diagrams  and  figures.     He  will  observe  that  among  animal  foods 

in  the  nutritive  effect  of  the  same  substance  with  different  persons,  is  such  that  these  calculations  are  not  correct 
for  every  case.  Furthermore,  there  are  other  things  besides  the  proportions  of  nutrients  that  affect  the  nutritive 
action  of  food.  This  topic  I  hope  to  discuss  later.  Meanwhile  it  will  suffice  to  say  that  for  the  staple  food-mate- 
rials these  calculations  are  probably  close  approximations  to  the  real  nutritive  values  as  compared  with  the  costs. 
The  methods  by  which  they  are  made  are  too  complex  to  be  explained  here,  but  may  be  found  in  an  article  OD 
"Food  Consumption  "  in  the  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labor  for  1886,  p.  251. 


Diagram  VI.— COMPARATIVE  EXPENSIVENESS  OF  FOODS. 

Amounts  of  Actual  Nutrients  (Nutritive  Ingredients)  Obtained  for  Twenty-five  Cents  in  Different 
Food-Materials  at  Ordinary  Prices,  with  Amounts  Appropriate  for  a  Day's  Ration, 


Food-Materials. 


Beef,  sirloin 

Beef,  sirloin,  at  lower  price 

Beef,  round 

Beef,  neck 

Mutton,  leg 

Smoked  Ham 

Salt  Pork,  very  fat 

Salmon,  early  in  season 

Salmon,  at  lower  price 

Mackerel 

Codfish 

Salt  Mackerel 

Salt  Codfish 

Oysters,  at  40  cents  per  quart 

Hens'  eggs,  at  30  cents  per  dozen 

Milk,  at  7  cents  per  quart 

Cheese,  whole  milk 

Cheese,  skimmed  milk 

Butter 

Oleomargarine 

Sugar 

Wheat  flour 

Wheat  bread 

Corn  (maize)  meal 

Oatmeal 

Rice 

Beans 

Potatoes,  at  75  cents  per  bushel 

Standards  for  daily  diet  for  |  Voit's, 
laboring  man  at  moderate-? 
work (  Writer 

\A'.  O,  Atwatkr. 


Quantities  obtained  for  25  cents. 


Nutrients  in  the  Food-Materials. 
Quantities  in  pounds  and  hundredths  of  a  pound  indicated  by  shaded  bands . 
PROTEIN.  FATS.  CARBOHYDRATES. 

''^  Lean'"'  of  7neat,       Fatty  and  oily      Sugar ^  star ch , 
gluten  o/iuheat^  etc.         substances.  etc. 


Century  Magazine. 

Reprinted  by  consent. 


Diagram  VII.— COMPARATIVE  EXPENSIVENESS  OF  FOODS. 


Costs  of  a  Pound  of  Protein  and  Amounts  of  Potential  Energy  Obtained  for  Twenty-five  Cents 
in  Different  Food-Materials  at  Current  Market  Prices. 


Kinds  of  Food-Materials. 


Beef,  sirloin 

Beef,  sirloin,  at  lower  price 

Beef,  round 

Beef,  neck 

Mutton,  leg 

Smoked  Ham 

Salt  Pork,  very  fat 

Salmon,  early  in  season 

Salmon,  at  lower  price 

Mackerel 

Codtisii 

Salt  mackerel 

Salt  codfish 

Oysters,  at  40  cents  per  quart. . . 
Hens'  eggs,  at  30  cents  per  dozen 

Milk,  at  7  cents  per  quart 

Cheese,  whole  milk 

Cheese,  skimmed  milk 

Butter 

Oleomargarine 

Sugar 

Wheat  flour 

Wheat  bread 

Corn  (maize)  meal  

Oatmeal 

Rice 

Beans  

Potatoes,  at  75  cents  per  bushel. 


Assumed 
prices  of 
Food-ma- 
terials per 
pound  in 
cents. 


12J-0 
07 

-I 

15 
08 

30 
15 

03 

03 
05 
08 
05 


The  estimated  cost  (in  cents)  of  one  pound  of  protein  in  each 
Food-material,  when  the  latter  is  bought  at  the  market  prices  as- 
sumed, is  expressed    by   the   lengths   of   the   light  parallel  lines, 

The  estimated  number  of  calories  of  potential  energy  in  the 
nutrients  (actually  nutritive  ingredients)  contained  in  the  quantity 
of  each  Food-material  which  25  cents  would  pay  for  if  the  ma- 
terial were  bought  at  the  market  prices  assumed,  is  expressed  by 
dark  lines,  thus: 


T06  cents... 

870  calories 

85  cents... 

1114  calories 

,  63  cents... 
1145  calories 

33  cents... 
2793  calories 

91  cents... 

1076  calories 

40  cents... 

3060  calories 

25  cents. . . 

6325  calories 

511  cents... 

15,8  calories 

155  cents... 

519  calories 

79  cents.,, 

929  calories 

75  cents... 

656  calories 

52  cents... 
1807  calories 

43  cents... 
J103  calories 
268  cents... 
326  calories 
121  cents... 
768  calories 

53  cents... 
2178  calories 

31  cents... 

3403  calories 

18  cents  .. 

3642  calories 

no  protein. 
3o!;2  calories 
no  protein. 
6164  calories 

no  protein. 
6292  calories 

11  cents,, . 
13782  calories 

35  cents. . . 
4255  calories 

12  cents. .. 
1348B  calories 

15  cents.,. 
9189  calories 

34  cents  .. 
5068  calories 

14  cents... 
7630  calories 

22  cents... 
7689  calories 


W.  O.  Atwater. 


Century  Magazine. 

Reprinted  by  consent. 


142  THE   SCIENCE   OF    ISTUTRITIOlf. 

those  which  rank  as  delicacies  are  the  costliest.  If  he  uses  the  protein  of  oysters 
to  make  blood,  muscle,  and  brain,  it  will  cost  him  from  two  to  three  dollars  a  pound. 
In  salmon,  if  he  is  enough  of  a  gormand  to  buy  it  at  the  beginning  of  the  season 
at  $1  a  pound,  he  will  pay  at  the  rate  of  15  a  pound  for  his  protein.  In  beef, 
mutton  and  pork  the  cost  of  the  protein  ranges  from  a  little  over  a  dollar  to  about 
40  cents  a  pound.  (Salt  pork,  in  which  its  cost  is  estimated  at  25  cents,  contains 
extremely  little  protein.)  In  such  fish  as  shad,  bluefish,  and  halibut  (which  are  not 
mentioned  in  the  diagrams),  when  they  are  cheap,  say  from  8  to  12  cents  a  pound, 
the  protein  costs  about  the  same  as  in  beef  and  mutton ;  but  when  the  price  i.5 
from  15  to  25  cents,  the  cost  of  the  protein  is  from  one  to  two  dollars  a  pound.  In 
cod  and  mackerel,  fresh  and  salted,  the  protein  varies  from  30  to  80  cents  a  pound. 
Salt  cod  and  salt  mackerel  are  generally,  fresh  cod  and  fresh  mackerel  often,  and 
even  the  choice  fish,  as  bluefish  and  shad,  when  abundant,  cheaper  sources  of  pro- 
tein that  any  but  the  cheapest  kinds  of  meat.  Among  meats,  pork  is  the  cheapest ; 
but  salt  pork  or  bacon  has  but  very  little  protein  and  consists  mostly  of  fat,  which, 
though  rich  in  potential  energy,  and  very  useful  for  people  who  have  had  hard  work 
to  do  or  are  exposed  to  severe  cold,  is  not  so  appropriate  in  warm  weather  or  for 
those  whose  time  is  spent  within  doors  and  whose  muscular  labor  is  light.  The 
comparative  cheapness  of  cheese  is  well  worth  notiL^-,  and  the  great  economy  of 
oleomargarine  as  compared  with  butter  deserves  of  more  than  a  passing  remark. 

The  comparison  between  wheat  flour  and  potatoes  is  especially  interesting. 
The  protein  in  the  wheat  flour,  at  $6  a  barrel  or  3  cents  a  pound  comes  to  11  cents, 
while  in  potatoes  at  50  cents  a  bushel  it  costs  15  cents  a  pound.  Estimated  in  terms 
of  potential  energy,  25  cents  pays  for  about  14,000  Calories  in  wheat  flour  at  $6 
a  barrel,  and  12,000  in  potatoes  at  50  cents  a  bushel.  The  potatoes  would  have  to 
be  reduced  to  40  cents  a  bushel  to  make  their  nutrients  as  cheap  as  those  of  wheat 
flour  at  $6  per  barrel.  Adding  to  this  the  fact  that  the  protein  of  wheat  is  the  more 
valuable,  weight  for  weight,  because  that  in  the  potatoes  is  apparently  less  digestible 
and  certainly  of  inferior  chemical  constitution,  the  showing  against  potatoes,  even 
at  this  price,  is  very  decided.  But  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  United  States,  at 
any  rate,  people  are  very  apt  to  pay  75  cents  or  $1  a  bushel  for  their  potatoes,  while 
the  finest  wheat  flour  now  sells  at  $6  a  barrel ;  and  if  they  are  contented  with  flour 
of  the  coarser  grades,  they  can  have  it  for  less.* 


*  At  first  thought  this  cheapness  of  wheat  flour  as  compared  with  potatoes  is  a  little  surprising.  The  natural 
Law  of  supply  and  demand  of  such  staple  materials,  in  the  long  run,  shapes  the  price  more  or  less  closely  to  the  act- 
ual value  for  use,  and  we  should  expect  that  the  price  of  potatoes  and  flour  would  naturally  gravitate  to  points 
which  would  make  them  more  nearly  equal  in  actual  cheapness.  At  $10  a  barrel,  the  price  of  wheat  flour  a  few 
years  ago,  its  protein  would  cost  not  far  from  13  cents  a  pound,  which  would  correspond  to  potatoes  at  about  60 
cents  a  bushel.    If  the  price  of  flour  should  remain  where  it  now  is,  we  may,  perhaps,  expect  that  of  potatoes  to 


THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITlOlir.  143 

In  the  United  States  the  tendency  to  extravagance,  combined  with  the  mistaken 
notion  as  to  the  nutritive  value  of  costly  food,  causes  exception  to  the  rule.  Taking 
the  world  through,  however,  the  poorer  communities  and  classes  of  people  almost 
universally  select  those  foods  which  chemical  analysis  shows  to  supply  the  actual 
nutrients  at  the  lowest  cost.  But,  unfortunately,  the  proper  proportions  of  the  nu- 
trients in  their  dietaries  are  often  very  defective.  Thus  in  portions  of  India  and 
China  rice,  in  northern  Italy  maize-meal,  in  certain  districts  of  Germany  and  in 
some  regions  and  seasons  in  Ireland  potatoes,  and  among  the  poor  whites  of  the 
southern  United  States  maize-meal  and  bacon,  make  a  large  part  of  the  sustenance 
of  the  people.  These  foods  supply  the  nutrients  in  the  cheapest  forms,  but  they 
are  all  deficient  in  protein.  The  people  who  live  upon  them  are  ill-nourished,  and 
suffer  physically,  intellectually,  and  morally  thereby. 

Finally  Prof.  Atwater  remarks  that  the  Scotchman,  as  shrewd  in  his  diet 
as  in  his  dealings,  finds  a  most  economical  supply  of  protein  in  oatmeal,  had- 
dock, and  herring ;  and  the  thrifty  inhabitants  of  New  England  supplement 
the  fat  of  their  pork  with  the  protein  of  beans  and  the  carbohydrates  of  potatoes, 
and  supplement  maize  and  wheat  flour  with  the  protein  of  codfish  and  mack- 
erel ;  and  while  subsisting  largely  upon  such  frugal  but  rational  diets,  are  well 
nourished,  physically  strong,  and  distinguished  for  their  intellectual  and  moral 
force. 

Mrs.  Kichards  gives  another  way  of  stating  the  relative  cost  of  some  foods  which 
is  as  follows : 

Children  and  delicate  women  require  food  per  day  sufficient  to  furnish  heat  or 
equivalent  energy  equal  to  2,500  to  3,000  Calories. 

Sedentary  men  and  more  vigorous  women  require  food  per  day  sufficient  to  fur- 
nish heat  or  equivalent  energy  equal  to  3,000  to  3,500  Calories. 


come  down  gradually  to  a  point  where  the  actual  expensiveness  of  the  two  will  be  more  nearly  the  same.  Of 
course  this  is  a  matter  outside  of  chemistry,  but  the  little  study  I  have  given  it  leaves  me  with  the  decided  im- 
pression that  the  prices  of  such  staple  food-materials  tend  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  nutritive  values. 

This  statement  is  apparently  in  direct  contradiction  with  a  fact  which  these  computations  bring  out  most 
forcibly,  to  wit,  the  wide  difference  between  the  prices  of  foods  and  their  values.  But  these  differences  have^ 
reaUy,  a  very  simple  explanation.  The  prices  we  pay  for  many  of  our  food  materials  are  regulated  rather  by 
their  agreeableness  to  our  palates  than  their  values  for  nourishing  our  bodies.  The  sirloin  of  beef  which  we 
buy  for  25  or  30  cents  a  pound  is  really  no  more  nourishing  than  the  shoulder  which  we  get  for  10  cents,  or  the 
neck  at  8  cents  a  pound.  In  general,  only  a  part,  and  often  a  small  part,  of  what  we  spend  for  meats  and  sweet- 
meats goes  for  the  nutriment  they  contain.  The  rest  is  the  price  of  flavor,  tenderness,  and  other  things  that 
make  them  toothsome.  Nor  does  the  disparity  between  animal  and  vegetable  foods  conflict  with  the  principle  I 
have  ventured  to  lay  down.  Meats,  fish,  and  the  like  gratify  the  palate  in  ways  which  most  vegetable  foods  do 
not,  and,  what  is  perhaps  of  still  greater  weight  in  regulating  the  actual  usage  of  communities  by  whose  de- 
mand the  prices  are  regulated,  they  satisfy  a  real  need  by  supplying  protein  and  fats,  which  vegetable  foods  lack. 
People  who  can  afford  it,  the  world  over,  will  have  animal  foods  and  will  compete  with  one  another  in  the  prices 
they  give  for  them.  These  facts  put  the  choicer  animal  foods  outside  the  action  of  the  law,  if  it  be  a  law,  t^at 
price  and  nutritive  value  tend  to  run  parallel. 


Diagram  IV.— POTENTIAL   ENERGY  OF  FOOD. 


CALORIES  IN  THE  NUTRIENTS  IN  ONE  POUND  OF  EACH   FOOD-MATERIAL. 


Beef,  round,  rather  lean 807 

Beef,  neck 1108 

Beef,  sirloin,  rather  fat 1173 

Beef,  flank,  very  fat 2750 

Beef,  side,  well  fattened 1463 

Mutton,  leg 1142 

Mutton,  shoulder 1281 

Mutton,  loin  (chops) 1755 

Mutton,  side,  well   fattened 1906 

Smoked   ham i960 

Pork,  very  fat 3452 

Flounder 286 

Cod 310 

Haddock 331 

Bluefish 404 

Mackerel,  rather  lean 430 

Mackerel,  very  fat 1026 

Mackerel,  average 696 

Shad 750 

Salmon 967 

Salt  cod 416 

Salt  mackerel 1364 

Smoked  herring 1343 

Canned  salmon 1036 

Oysters 229 

Hens' eggs 760 

Cows'  milk 308 

Cows'  milk,  skimmed 176 

Cheese,  whole  milk 2044 

Cheese,  skimmed  milk 1166 

Butter 3691 

Oleomargarine 3679 

Wheat  flour 1655 

Wheat  bread 1278 

Rye  flour 1614 

Beans 1519 

Pease 1476 

Oatmeal 1830 

Corn  (maize)  meal 1616 

Rice 1627 

Sugar 1798 

Potatoes 427 

Sweet  Potatoes 416 

Turnips 135 


The  potential  energy  represents  simply  the  fuel  value  of  the  food,  and  hence  is  only  an 
incomplete  measure  of  its  whole  nutritive  value.  Besides  serving  as  fuel,  our  food  has  other 
uses,  one  of  which  is,  if  possible,  still  more  important,  namely,  that  of  forming  and  repairing  the 
tissues  of  the  body,  the  parts  of  the  machine. 


W.  O,  Atwater. 


Century  Magazine. 

Reprinted  by  consent. 


THE   SCIESrCE   OF   NUTRITION.  145 

Hard-working  robust  men  require  food  per  day  sufficient  to  furnish  heat  or 
equivalent  energy  equal  to  3,500  to  4,000  Calories. 

The  average  family,  per  person,  probably  requires  food  per  day  sufficient  to  fur- 
nish heat  or  equivalent  energy  equal  to  3,000  Calories. 

But  foods  differ  not  only  in  their  power  of  furnishing  heat  or  equivalent  energy, 
but  also  in  their  cost,  and  since  in  general  half  the  average  earnings  of  the  working 
man  are  spent  for  food  it  is  extremely  desirable  to  know  what  foods  furnish  the 
most  heat  or  equivalent  energy  for  the  least  money.  The  following  table  shows  the 
cost  of  an  amount  of  different  food  material  sufficient  to  furnish  heat  or  equivalent 
energy  enough  for  the  average  member  of  a  family  per  day.  The  amount  of  food 
required  is  assumed  to  be  sufficient  to  furnish  3,000  Calories  of  heat  or  equiva- 
lent energy  per  day.  Of  course  if  the  prices  change  the  cost  per  day  will  change 
proportionately  : 

TABLE   II. 

Showing  the  Cost  op  3,000  Calories  obtained  from  Different  Food  Materials. 

FOOD  materials.  COST  IN  CENTS. 

Suet  at  6  cents  a  pound,  4.40 

Potatoes  at  30  cents  a  bushel,  %  cent  a  pound,  5.00 

Corn  Meal  at  3  cents  a  pound,  5.43 

Flour  at  4  cents  a  pound,  or  $7.50  a  barrel,  7.26 

Flour  at  5  cents  a  pound,  or  $1.50  a  bag,  9.09 

Potatoes  at  50  cents  a  bushel  or  1  cent  a  pound,  10.00 

Sugar  at  6  cents  a  pound,  10.41 

Beef,  from  shin  and  flank,  4  cents  a  pound,  12.00 

Sausage,  Bacon  and  Ham,  at  12  or  12  _J^  cents  a  pound,  12.78 

Beans  and  Pease  at  8  to  10  cents  a  quart,  13.86 

Sugar  at  8  cents  a  pound,  13.92 

Rice  at  8  cents  a  pound,  15.69 

Skimmed  Milk  at  2  cents  a  quart,  17.31 

Parts  of  Beef,  Mutton  or  Pork,  pretty  fat,  8  to  10  cents  a  pound,  20.00 

Potatoes  at  $1.25  a  bushel,  20.60 

Skimmed  Milk  at  3  cents  a  quart,  25.62 

Apples  at  45  cents  a  peck,  27.30 

Butter  at  35  cents  a  pound,  30.74 

Milk  at  7  cents  a  quart,  34. 74 

Cheese  at  14  cents  a  pound,  36.33 

"Sreen  Vegetables  at  5  cents  a  pound,  61.50 

Beef,  medium  fat,  with  15  per  cent,  bone,  at  15^  cents  a  pound,  100.00 

Eggs  at  18  cents  a  dozen,  106.50 


146  THE   SCIElfCE   OF   NUTRITI02S". 

From  the  above  table  it  is  clearly  evident  that  suet,  corn  meal  and  flour,  are  at 
present  prices,  the  cheapest  kinds  of  food,  but  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the 
above  table  teaches  that  we  could  live  on  single  articles  of  food,  suet  alone  for  ex- 
ample, notwithstanding  it  would  furnish  the  necessary  energy  and  is  cheap.  With 
the  exception  of  wheat,  milk,  eggs,  and  possibly  one  or  two  other  articles,  no  single 
food  contains  all  the  elements  in  the  right  proportion.  We  need  what  are  called 
nitrogenous  foods,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  wheat,  lean  meats,  pease  and 
beans.  We  also  need  energy-producing  foods,  among  which  maybe  mentioned  suet, 
butter,  flour,  corn  meal,  potatoes,  sugar,  etc.  We  also  need  mineral  matter  which 
is  usually  obtained  in  proper  amount  from  the  meats  and  vegetables.  We  also  need 
water  and  air  as  well  as  flavors  which  make  things  taste  good.  The  flavors  are  com- 
monly developed  during  the  cooking  of  the  food,  but  we  also  often  add  flavors,  such 
as  vanilla,  lemon,  banana,  etc.     The  air  and  water  are  from  the  common  supply. 

Lists  or  statements  showing  the  proper  combinations  of  different  articles  of 
food  are  called  Bills  of  Fare,  or  more  properly  Dietaries,  and  much  study  is  now 
being  put  on  this  subject. 

For  the  most  exhaustive  study  of  nutrition  in  relation  to  cost  and  quantity 
and  working  power  produced,  see  the  pamphlet  "  Die  Ernalirung  der  Handweber 
im  Zittau/'  von  Dr.  Carl  von  Rechenberg,  Leipzig,  1890. 


THE    SCIENCE    OP    NUTRITION.  147 

In  the  following  table  the  scientific  standard  of  adequate  nutrition  for  a  person  in 
good  health  is  given.  In  other  parts  of  this  work,  the  foreign  standards  of  Yoit,  Playfaii 
and  others  have  been  submitted  —  each  varying  somewhat  in  the  proportions  of  pi'otein^ 
starch  and  fat,  but  all  substantially  agreeing  in  the  Calories,  or  mechanical  units  of  heat^ 
which  are  the  measure  of  the  fuel  value  of  the  food. 

Professor  Atwater  makes  his  standard  larger  than  the  European  ones,  partly  because 
we  waste  more,  but  chiefly  because  we  live  and  ought  to  live  on  a  higher  nutritive  plane. 
We  woi'k  harder  than  people  do  in  Europe  and  accomplish  more  and  need  more  food  ta 
do  it. 

In  fitting  diet  to  the  demands  of  jjeople  of  different  occupations,  sex,  and  age,  tha 
main  point  is  to  supply  enough  protein  to  build  up  the  bodily  machine  and  keep  it  in 
repair,  and  enough  fuel  to  run  it  well.  Fat,  starch  and  sugar  are  the  chief  fuel  materials, 
It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  the  exact  amounts  of  fats  and  carbohydrates  of  the  standards 
so  long  as  there  is  enough  of  the  two  together  for  fuel.  Either  may  be  increased  and  the 
other  diminished  in  corresponding  amount.  One  part  by  weight  of  fats  corresponds  in  fuel 
value  to  two  and  a  quarter  parts  of  sugar  and  starch. 

These  standards  and  the  foregoing  table  are  based  on  the  customary  supply  of  food- 
material  by  purchase,  and  not  upon  the  exact  amounts  digested  and  assimilated.  That  is 
to  say,  if  persons  desire  to  adjust  their  consumption  of  food  to  true  average  conditions, 
they  may  purchase  the  quantities  of  food  in  the  several  varieties  necessary  to  yield  the  true 
proportions  of  protein,  and  fuel  value  called  for  by  the  standard  according  to  occupation 
and  sex.  If  these  quantities  are  combined,  cooked  and  served  with  fair  intelligence  on 
ordinary  present  methods,  they  will  yield  the  right  proportions  to  the  digestive  organs,  a 
margin  being  allowed  both  in  the  tables  and  in  the  dietaries  which  ai'e  based  upon  them 
for  the  considerable  element  of  waste  which  is  now  customary  in  the  cooking  and  in  the 
serving  of  the  food.  If  nutrition  could  be  governed  by  exact  and  scientific  rules  under 
uniform  conditions,  all  these  standards  could  be  much  reduced  ;  but  such  conditions  are  not 
to  be  expected.  The  standards  may,  therefore,  be  said  to  be  loaded  with  a  margin  for  the 
waste,  particularly  of  people  who  are  intelligent  and  purely  economical. 

Again,  these  standards  must  be  raised  to  meet  the  gross  waste  of  ignorant  people,  and 
for  the  very  bad  cooking  which  prevails.  Such  tables  can  only  serve  as  a  general  guide 
in  individual  cases,  but  may  govern  the  selection  of  food-material  in  institutions  in  which 
large  numbers  of  persons  can  be  supplied  with  food  by  rule. 


148 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 


AMOUNTS   OF    NUTRIENTS    FURNISHED    FOR    TWENTY-FIVE    CENTS    IN    FOOD-MATERIALS 

AT    ORDINARY    PRICES. 


ftT3 
a,  a 

.2  o 

04 

25  CENTS  WILL  PAY  FOR — 

FOOD-MATERIALS. 
AS  PURCHASED. 

"Si 

O  CS 

NUTRIENTS. 

■ss 

Total. 

Protein. 

Fats. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Beef,  sirloin 

Beef,  sirloin 

Beef,  sirloin 

Beef,  sirloin 

Beef,  round 

Beef,  round 

Beef,  round 

Beef,  neck 

Beef,  neck 

Beef,  neck 

Mutton,  leg 

Mutton,  leg 

Mutton,  leg 

Ham,  smoked  .... 
Ham,  smoked     .... 

Salt  pork 

Salt  pork 

Salt  pork 

Cod,  fresh 

Cod,  fresh 

Cod,  dried,  salt  .... 
Cod,  dried,  salt  .... 
Mackerel,  salt  .... 
Mackerel,  salt  .... 
Oysters,  25  cents  a  quart 
Oysters,  35  cents  a  quart 
Oysters,  50  cents  a  quart 
Eggs,  15  cents  per  dozen 
Eggs,  25  cents  per  dozen 
Eggs,  35  cents  per  dozen 
Milk,  3  cents  per  quart  . 
Milk,  0  cents  per  quart  . 
Milk,  8  cents  per  quart  . 
Cheese,  whole  milk  .  . 
Cheese,  whole  milk  .  . 
Cheese,  whole  milk  .  . 
Cheese,  skim  milk  .  . 
Cheese,  skim  milk  .  . 
Cheese,  skim  milk      .     . 

Butter 

Butter 

Butter 


Cents. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

10 

2.50 

.79 

15 

1.67 

.52 

20 

1.25 

.39 

25 

1.00 

.31 

8 

3.13 

.95 

12 

2.08 

.63 

16 

1.56 

.47 

4 

6.25 

1.85 

6 

4.17 

1.23 

8 

3.13 

.93 

8 

3.13 

.96 

14 

1.79 

.55 

20 

1.25 

.38 

10 

2.50 

1.23 

16 

1.56 

.77 

10 

2.50 

2.09 

14 

1.79 

1.50 

18 

1.39 

1.16 

6 

4.17 

.45 

10 

2.50 

.27 

6 

4.17 

.68 

8 

.3.13 

.51 

10 

2.50 

.74 

15 

1.67 

.49 

12.5 

2.00 

.24 

17.5 

1.43 

.17 

25 

1.00 

.12 

8.8 

2.84 

.63 

14.7 

1.70 

.38 

20.6 

1.21 

.27 

1.5 

16.67 

2.05 

3 

8.33 

1.02 

4 

6.25 

.77 

12 

2.08 

1.36 

15 

1.67 

1.09 

18 

1.39 

.91 

6 

4.17 

2.25 

8 

3.13 

1.69 

10 

2.50 

1.35 

15 

1.67 

1.45 

25 

1.00 

.86 

35 

.71 

.61 

.38 
.25 
.19 
.15 
.56 
.37 
.28 
.98 
.65 
.49 
.47 
.27 
.19 
.37 
.23 
.02 
.02 
.01 
.44 
.27 
.67 
.50 
.37 
.24 
.13 
.09 
.06 
.34 
.21 
.15 
.60 
.30 
.23 
.59 
.47 
.39 
1.60 
1.20 
.96 
.02 
.01 
.01 


Pounds, 

.41 

.27 
.20 
.16 
.39 
.26 
.19 
.87 
.58 
.44 
.49 
.28 
.19 
.86 
.54 

2.07 

1.48 

1.15 
.01 

.01 
.01 
.37 
.25 
.03 
.02 
.02 
.29 
.17 
.12 
.67 
.23 
.25 
.74 
.59 
.49 
.28 
.21 
.17 
1.42 
.85 
.60 


Pounds. 


.08 
.06 
.04 


.39 
.29 
.03 
.03 
.03 
.37 
.28 
.22 
.01 


Calories. 

2425 

1620 

1215 

970 
2675 
1780 
1335 
5500 
3670 
2755 
2925 
1675 
1170 
4340 
2705 
8775 
6285 
4880 

855 

510 
1315 

985 
2275 
1520 

520 

370 

260 
1860 
1115 

790 
5420 
2705 
2030 
4305 
3455 
2875 
4860 
3645 
2910 
6035 
3615 
2565 


THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 


149 


AMOUNTS   OF    NUTRIENTS    FURNISHED    FOR    TWENTY-FIVE    CENTS    IN    POOD-MATERIALS 

AT  ORDINARY  PRICES.  —  Continued. 


u 
o 

25   CEI^TS  WILL  PAY  FOR  — 

FOOD-MATEEIALS. 
AS  PURCHASED. 

O  eS 

•HT 

It 

NUTRIENTS. 

Total. 

Protein. 

Fats. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Sugar    

Sugar    

Wheat  flour 

Wheat  flour 

Wheat  flour 

Wheat  bread 

Wheat  bread 

Wheat  bread 

Corn  meal 

Corn  meal 

Oat  meal , 

Oat  meal , 

Rice       , 

Rice  

Beans , 

Potatoes,  45  cents  per  bushel , 
Potatoes,  60  cents  per  bushel , 
Potatoes,  90  cents  per  bushel , 


Cents. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

5 

5.00 

4.89 



7 

3.57 

3.50 

— 

2 

12.50 

10.87 

1.37 

2.5 

10.00 

8.70 

1.10 

3 

8.33 

7.24 

.91 

3 

8.33 

5.56 

.73 

5 

5.00 

3.34 

.44 

8 

3.13 

2.09 

.28 

2 

12.50 

10.45 

1.15 

3 

8.33 

6.97 

.77 

3 

8.33 

7.51 

1.22 

5 

5.00 

4.52 

.74 

6 

4.17 

3.64 

.31 

8 

3.13 

2.73 

.23 

5 

5.00 

4.22 

1.16 

0.75 

33.33 

5.70 

^er^ 

1 

25.00 

4.27 

.45 

1.5 

16.67 

2.85 

.30 

1 

.14 
.11 
.09 
.14 
.08 
.05 
.47 
.32 
.59 
.36 
.02 
.01 
-MX- 
.03 
.02 
.02 


Pounds.  Pounds. 

4.89 
3.50 
9.36 
7.49 
6.24 
4.69 
2.82 
1.76 
8.83 
5.88 
5.70 
3.42 
3.31 
2.49 
2.96 
5.07 
3.80 
2.53 


Calories. 

9100 

6495 

20565 

16450 

13705 

10660 

6400 

4005 

20565 

13705 

15370 

9225 

6795 

5100 

8075 

10665 

8000 

6335 


DIETARY   STANDARDS. 

Man  with  light  exercise 

Man  with  moderate  muscular  work  .     . 
Man  at  active  muscular  work  .     .     .     . 


Pounds. 

Pounds. 

1.32 

.22 

1.55 

.28 

1.76 

.33 

Pounds. 

.22 
.28 
.33 


Pounds. 


1.10 


Calories. 

2980 
3520 
4060 


150 


THE   SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION. 


In  the  compilation  of  the  twelve  dietaries  for  thirty  days  which  have  been  pre- 
viously given  with  directions  for  their  preparation,  the  following  food  values  were 
the  basis  of  the  computation. 

In  this  table  the  value  is  kept  under  rather  than  over  the  limit,  and  is  intended 
to  be  available  for  any  part  of  the  country. 


Article  of  Food. 


Apples  .  .  . 
Bacon  .  .  . 
Beans  .... 
Beef,  shin  and  sh'ld'r 

Beets 

Butter     .... 

Bread 

Cabbage  .... 
Cheese  .... 
Corn  Meal  .  ,  . 
Codfish,  salt  .  . 
Corned  Beef,  lean 
Corned  Beef,  fat . 
Crushed  Wheat  . 
Fresh  Fish  .    .    . 

Eggs 

Flour,  white  .  . 
Flour,  whole    .    . 


Per 

Per 

cent. 
Proteid. 

cent. 
Fat. 

10.00 

70.no 

24.40 

1.50 

20.00 

4.00 

1.26 

1.00 

86.50 

7.00 

0.50 

2.00 

0.50 

30.00 

31.00 

9.50 

4.00 

22.08 

2.20 

21.40 

18.00 

2.60 

77.80 

11.64 

1.26 

12.00 

0.30 

12.50 

12.00 

11.00 

1.30 

12.00 

2.f0 

Per  cent. 
Carbohydrate, 


Starch.  Sugar, 


13. 

51, 

0.10 

52.50 
6. 

69. 


8.00 
4.00 


69.00 

o.'ss 


Calories 

per 
Pound. 


2960 

1650 

520 

160 

3615 

1150 

190 

1780 

1650 

1488 

1105 

2960 

1650 

230 

705 

1660 

1650 


Article  of  Food, 


Ham  .  .  . 
Hominy  .  . 
Liver  .  .  . 
Maccaroni  . 
Milk,  ■whole 
Milk,  skim  . 
Mutton,  neck 
Oatmeal  .  . 
Pork  .  .  . 
Potatoes 
Pease  .  .  . 
Rice  .  .  . 
Sausage  .  . 
Squash  .  . 
Suet  .  .  . 
Sugar .  .  . 
Turnips  .  . 
IVeal    .    .    . 


Per  cent. 

Per 

Per 

Carbohydrate. 

cent. 
Proteid. 

cent. 
Fat. 

1 

Starch. 

Sugar. 

24.00 

30.60 

9.50 

4.00 

69. 

00 

20  00 

5.00 

8.50 

03 

75. 

00 

3.20 

3.90 

4.30 

4.00 

0.90 

4.70 

15.50 

8.50 

14,00 

7.00 

63. 

50 

2.60 

77.80 

2  00 

21. 

00 

23.00 

2.00 

53. 

00 

7.40 

0.40 

79. 

00 

13.00 

40.00 

039 

0  06 
89.00 

4. 

00 
96.50 

1.50 

0.14 

1.24 

8.00 

19.00 

3.00 

Calorie* 

per 
Pound. 


1656 
1650 
560 
1650 
298 
SOI 
619 
1650 
3160 
430 
1650 
1870 
1834 
160 
3600 
1800 
160 
462 


Illustrative  of  this  study  of  diet  is  given  below  the  actual  amount  and  variety 
of  food  eaten  by  a  man  and  a  woman  on  a  certain  day,  with  calculations  of  the 
amount  of  energy  (expressed  in  Calories)  contained  in  the  food,  together  with  the 
relative  amounts  of  the  different  nutrients: 


MAM. 
Ounces. 

4 

% 
% 
H 

3 

10 

% 
UK 

4 


Sunday,  February  22,  1890. 

breakfast. 

Milk, 

Flour  Griddle  Oakes, 

Syrup, 

Butter, 

Cheese, 

Cream, 

Coffee, 

Sugar, 

Oatmeal, 

Water, 


WOMAN. 
Ounces. 
6 
4 

% 

% 

% 

% 
8 

taste 
6 
0 


I 


36t 


24i 


THE    SCIENCE    OP   NUTRITION. 


151 


OuncoB. 

3 

1 

8^  -|-  1^  oz.  waste 
2 
1 
Apple  31  +  ^  oz.  waste 
1 
0 
18 

79i 

5  -j-  1  oz.  sugar 

I  -[- 1"  oz.  sugar 

i 
1 

0 

6 

.  99f 
5 

94| 

Calculation  of  the  above 


Grms.  Albumen. 

4.5 

2.5 

0.4 

2.1 

6.4 
28.6 
39. 

2. 


10.5 
11.2 


4.5 
1.4 

2.0 


80.0 


Fats. 
3.9 
10.1 
32.9 
2.2 
0.5 
6.3 


14. 

5.6 

15. 

1.5 
0.1 

92.1 


DINNER. 

WOMAN. 
Ounces. 

Cold  Corned  Beef, 

H 

Fat  Beef, 

0^ 

Vegetables,  Parsnip,  Beet, 
Baked  Potato, 

Turnipj 

5 

9i  +  2A  oz.  waste. 

Bread, 

0 

Butter, 

H 

Fruit, 

Nuts, 

Orange  4  -f-  ^  oz.  waste. 

Raisins, 

:. 

Water, 

12* 

581 

SUPPER. 

Pear  Sauce, 
Bread, 

5  -\-  1  oz.  sugar. 

If 

Cookie, 

0 

Butter, 

i 

Crackers  a^  bedtime, 

0 

Water, 

12 

Milk, 

0 

Less  Waste, 

71i 
5 

661 

MAN. 

Sugar. 

Starch. 

Grms.  Total. 

4.5 

112. 

Milk. 

2.5 

84. 

38. 

7. 

Cream. 
Butter. 
Cheese. 

51.4 

91. 
84. 

Bread. 
Beef. 

54. 

56. 

Sugar. 

41.2 

196. 

Potato. 

15.4 

154. 
14. 

Vegetables. 
Fat  in  Beef. 

35.0 

70. 

Griddle  Cakes. 

50.8 

322. 
18. 

(80  dry) 

Oatmeal. 
Cookies. 

9.7 

28. 

Nuts. 

17. 

196. 

''-'Ipe'aft^' 

15.8 

28. 

1,498. 

Crackers. 

297.3 

Calories  2,384. 

152 


Grins.  Albumen. 

Fats. 

13.4 

11.8 

0.4 

1.7 

O.b 

48.4 

2.1 

2.2 

3.4 

0.3 

14.3 

3.2 

3.9 

1.8 

16.8 

4.9 

2.5 

1.1 

3.7 

THE   SCIENCE 

OF    NUTRITION 

WOMAN. 

Sugar. 

Starch. 

Grms.  Total. 

13.4 

336. 

Milk. 

0.4 

14. 
56. 

7. 

Cream. 
Butter. 
Cheese. 

27.7 

49. 

42. 

Bread. 
Beef. 

33.8 

35. 

Sugar. 

41.2 

196. 

Potato. 

14. 

140. 
0. 

Vegetables. 
Fat  Beef. 

56.0 

112. 

Griddle  Cakes. 

22.2 

140. 

7. 

(35  dry) 

Oatmeal. 

Nuts. 

18.3 

210. 

-^-'    ISr/nge 

227.0 

1,344. 

Calories  1,859. 

62.7  73.8 

Since  our  American  Standard  dietary  calls  for  125  grams  Albumen,  125  grams 
Pats,  450  grams  Sugar  and  Starch,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  amount  was  insufficient 
although  the  ratio  of  the  weights  186  to  145  was  about  right:  1  pound  of  food 
for  each  35  pounds  of  body  weight. 

The  raison  d'  hire  of  all  this  modern  talk  on  cooking  is  that  we  may  have  better 
health ;  our  civilization  is  being  the  death  of  us. 

THE  EVIDENCES   OF  GOOD   HEALTH. 

How  shall  we  know  if  we  are  in  our  best  condition  ? 

First,  we  shall  not  be  thinking  about  it  at  all.  We  shall  not  mind  about  the 
quality  of  our  food  very  much.     Life  will  hold  other  pleasures  for  us. 

Mere  motion,  action,  work,  that  is,  use  of  muscular  power,  brings  a  delightful 
sense  of  life  and  force.  The  healthy  workman  goes  to  his  day's  work  with  vigor  in 
his  step,  the  schoolboy  to  his  desk  with  eagerness. 

If  we  find  ourselves  sluggish  and  tired  in  the  morning  it  is  because  something 
is  wrong.  The  standard  of  good  health  is  for  all  alike  the  consciousness  of  power. 
We  ask.  How  much,  power  of  work  is  there  in  the  food  we  eat? — how  much  food  do 
we  need  for  a  day's  work?  We  call  this  power,  ENERGY,  and  we  reckon  the  force 
in  Calories,  that  is  in  the  mechanical  equivalent  of  heat.  This  is  the  starting  point 
©f  all  our  modern  work  in  dietetics. 

The  modern  standard,  then,  of  good  health  is  energy,  power  to  do  work;  and  by 
work  we  mean  thinking,  inventing,  painting,  writing,  just  as  much  as  swinging  a 
sledge  hammer. 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTEITIOIS".  153 

It  is  no  longer  a  sin  to  be  well  and  strong  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  monas- 
teries and  hermits ;  man's  ambition  is  no  longer  to  be  dyspeptic  enough  to  see  visions 
and  dream  dreams. 

THE   ESSENTIALS  OF  GOOD  HEAKEH. 

What  then  is  necessary  to  maintain  this  standard  of  physical  strength  ?  Good 
digestion  waits  on  appetite.     Exercise  is  the  best  sauce. 

A  sound  firm  has  credit  at  the  bank.  A  little  pinch  for  money  does  not  seriously 
disturb  it ;  if  one  customer  does  not  pay  another  does. 

When  a  business  house  has  to  call  on  all  it  possesses  day  by  day  it  is  on  the  verge 

of  bankruptcy.     A  sound  man  has  a  store  of  health,  as  it  were,  to  fall  back  upon. 

He  can  bear  cold  and  wet  and  hunger  for  a  day  or  two,  readily.     When  a  little 

change  in  diet,  a  change  in  temperature  os  humidity  seriously  disturbs  a  man's 

health  he  is  nearly  or  quite  bankrupt. 

E.  H.  R. 


THE  RUMFORD  KITCHEN  LEAFLETS. 

No.  7. 


THE  FOOD  OF  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  AND   YOUNG    STUDENTS. 

Written  for  the  Eumford  Kitchen  by  Ellen  H.  Richards. 

The  accompanying  diagram,  showing  approximately  the  amounts  of  the  three  chief 
classes  of  food-stuffs  which  are  required  for  human  nutrition  at  the  different  ages,  points 
most  clearly  to  the  great  imjDortance  of  care  during  the  school  age.  "When  children  are 
free  to  roam  they  forage  for  themselves  to  a  great  extent,  and  although  they  may  eat  un- 
wisely, yet  such  is  their  power  of  assimilation,  that  comparatively  little  harm  comes  of  it. 
They  satisfy  their  hunger  and  grow  strong  through  incessant  activity. 

But  children  in  school  are  more  or  less  like  animals  in  captivity,  and  the  question  of 
their  food  should  be  as  carefully  studied.  For  our  town  and  city  schools  particularly, 
there  are  inevitable  difficulties  to  be  overcome  only  through  a  wise  adjustment  of  facts  to 
the  conditions. 

The  long  distance  to  be  travelled  by  some  necessitates  leaving  home  early  ;  therefore 
the  breakfast  is  often  hurried  for  fear  of  being  late  to  school.  Owing  to  a  lack  of  fresh 
air  in  the  sleeping-rooms  the  morning  appetite  of  many  children  is  capricious,  and  there- 
fore the  breakfast  taken  is  insufficient  in  quantity,  or  inadequate  in  quality,  even  when 
time  enough  is  allowed. 

The  thoughtful  mother  puts  up  a  luncheon,  usually  of  the  things  her  child  likes  best : 
cake,  pies,  and  cookies.     The  careless  mother  may  or  may  not  fill  the  luncheon  basket. 

The  child  is  a  young  animal  as  well  as  a  young  scholar,  and  at  an  age  when  all  other 
young  animals  eat  almost  constantly  while  awake,  and  sleep  half  the  time  in  periods  alter- 
nating with  those  of  eating ;  this  young  creature  goes  in  haste  to  school,  sits  in  a  fixed 
position,  if  not  in  a  cramped  one,  breathes  more  or  less  vitiated  air  for  four  or  five  hours 
a  day,  with  comparatively  short  intervals  of  exercise,  and  very  little  of  that  out  of  doors. 

Comparatively  few  mothers  really  know  how  much  children  eat,  for,  as  was  said  above, 
they  forage  for  themselves  to  a  great  extent,  and  if  a  luncheon  is  put  up  for  the  child  it 
often  happens  that  it  is  eaten  up  hours  before  it  was  supposed  to  be  required,  and  then 
there  is  nothing  left  for  the  regular  luncheon  time,  and  the  child  goes  hungry  for  too  long 


Copyright,  1893,  by  Ellen  H.  Bichabds. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION.  155 

a  time.  Four  meals  a  clay  are  recommended  as  best  for  children,  and  the  school  lunch 
should  serve  as  one  of  these. 

The  need  of  some  better  provision  for  the  food  of  young  children,  who  are  kept  so 
far  away  from  the  base  of  supplies  for  so  many  hours  of  the  day,  is  imperative  ;  for  insuf- 
ficient nutrition  (a  very  different  thing  from  insufficient  food)  has  quite  as  much  to  do 
with  the  frequent  breaking  down  of  the  child  as  over-stimulation  in  study  ;  in  fact,  over-stimu- 
lation in  study  is  probably  possible  only  in  the  case  of  an  insufficiently  nourished  scholar. 
The  healthy,  rosy-cheeked  child  is  too  much  of  an  animal,  contented  with  life,  to  be  driven 
to  over-exertion  in  study. 

An  examination  of  the  diagram  will  show  that  the  actual  weight  of  food  which,  a 
child  two  to  four  years  old  needs  is  already  about  one-fourth  that  of  the  active  working 
age.  The  rapid  rise  in  tissue-forming  albuminoids,  and  in  the  activity-giving  carbohy- 
drates from  the  tenth  year  after  a  slight  equilibrium  from  the  fourth  to  the  tenth  is  most 
instructive.  At  the  age  of  nine  or  ten,  then,  just  when  the  child  is  in  the  grammar  school, 
begins  a  period  of  great  activity  which  seems  to  exert  a  marked  infiuence  in  perfecting 
the  development  belonging  to  the  next  stage.  A  child  of  twelve  to  fifteen  requires  as 
much  food  in  actual  weight  as  a  person  in  the  prime  of  life  at  fifty  to  sixty,  and  only  a 
little  less  than  a  hard-working  man.  Insufficient  food  at  these  ages  causes  more  serious 
consequences  than  at  a  later  period. 

The  confinement  of  the  child  in  the  school-room  for  long  at  a  time  should  not  be 
tolerated  during  these  years  ;  and  not  only  a  recess  but  a  suitable  luncheon  should  be  in- 
sisted on  when  children  leave  home  by  or  before  eight  o'clock,  and  do  not  reach  home 
until  half-past  twelve  or  one  or  even  two  o'clock. 

It  is  time  that  a  vigorous  protest  was  made  against  the  claim  that  over-study  in 
school  is  the  cause  of  all  the  evils  of  school  life.  Let  a  careful  examination  be  made  of 
the  facts  as  to  food  and  exercise  before  a  universal  condemnation  of  our  intellectual  meth- 
ods of  education  is  allowed. 

It  has  for  a  long  time  been  considered  desirable  that  a  good  nutritious  hot  luncheon, 
or  some  bread  and  milk,  should  be  served  in  the  middle  of  the  morning  ;  but  the  way  ta 
the  practical  attainment  of  this  has  not  seemed  open.  The  chocolate  and  cakes  sold  at 
many  of  the  school-houses  help  slightly ;  but  there  is  need  for  something  more  systemati- 
cally planned. 

This  question  of  ways  and  means  has  come  up  in  reference  to  the  plan  which  is  grow- 
ing in  favor,  in  New  England  at  least,  of  bringing  the  children  to  a  central  graded  school, 
instead  of  having  a  number  of  ungraded  schools  in  widely  separated  sections  of  the  town. 

The  penny  dinners  of  the  English  schools  are  out  of  the  question  in  America,  not  on 
account  of  the  cost  of  material,  but  on  account  of  our  standard  of  living,  and  conse- 
quently the  increased  cost  of  serving  food  in  an  acceptable  manner. 


156  •  THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 

Sufficient  and  nutritious  luncheon  can  be  furnished  to  the  pupils  of  a  large  school  for 
from  three  to  five  cents  each,  but  from  our  present  knowledge,  it  would  require  about  a 
ten-cent  luncheon  to  satisfy  the  taste  of  the  American  scholar. 

In  order  to  help  solve  this  question,  among  others,  luncheons  were  served  daily  for 
the  winter  of  1892-93  to  the  pupils  of  the  Boston  Normal  School  of  Gymnastics.  This 
was  done  at  the  request  of  Miss  A.  M.  Homans,  the  director,  whose  long  connection  with 
the  School  Kitchens,  as  well  as  her  present  interest  in  physical  training,  led  her  to  a  just 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  this  factor  in  education  ;  and  to  her  enthusiasm  and  efficient 
management  the  success  of  the  plan  is  due. 

Although  these  students  were  young  women,  and  not  grammar-school  children,  yet  a 
general  method  of  procedure  has  been  outlined,  and  a  suggestion,  at  least,  obtained  of 
some  possible  methods  of  obtaining  the  desired  results. 

The  composition  and  food  value  of  these  luncheons  may  be  studied  from  the  follow- 
ing table,  showing  one  month's  supply. 

The  practical  results  of  suiting  the  taste  of  the  pupils  within  the  stijjulated  price  of 
fifteen  cents  per  luncheon  delivered  at  the  school-house  were  obtained  before  the  theoreti- 
cal calculation  of  the  actual  values  %vas  made.  The  figures  show  that  it  is  possible,  with 
such  a  knowledge  of  the  composition  of  food-stuffs  as  the  manager  of  the  New  England 
Kitchen,  Miss  S.  E.  Wentworth,  possesses,  to  approximate  very  closely  to  required  con- 
ditions without  an  elaborate  series  of  analyses  or  computations. 

The  luncheon  is  designed  to  furnish  one-fourth  of  the  total  food  value  for  the  day. 

For  comparison  is  given  one-fourth  of  the  two  standard  rations. 

Voit  ration 

American  ration     ..... 


' 


Proteid. 

Fats. 

Carbohydrates. 

Calories 

24.5  grams. 

14  grams. 

125  grams. 

742 

31.2      " 

31.2     " 

114      « 

882 

THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 


157 


Statement  of  One  Month's  Luncheons  Sekved  to  Students  (Women)  Five  Days  in   the  Week,  be- 
ginning FeBKUARY  1,  ENDING  FEBKUARY  28,  1893. 


Food  Value  in 

Grams. 

•6 

•^oi 

<D 

S 

oS 

t-i 

a 

o 

^ 

,0  ce 

o 

3 

cS 

oj 

O 

Oh 

fc, 

o 

O 

Food  Valui>:  in 

o 

Grams. 

2 
"S 

5 
o 

o 

;-< 
Ph 

43 

§■3 

Feb.  1. 

Beef  Broth 

2  Rolls    .    . 

Gingerbread 

Butter    .    . 
Feb.  2. 

Baked  Beans 

Brown  Bread 

1  Roll      .    . 

Butter    .    . 

1  Orange     . 
Feb.  3. 

Escalloped  Meat 

Rolls  .... 

Butter     .     .     . 

Apple  Sauce  , 
Feb.  6. 

Vegetable  Soup 

Rolls  .... 

Butter    .    .    . 

Apricot  Sauce 
Feb.  7. 

Potato  Soup   . 

Rolls  .... 

Butter    .     .     . 

2  Baked  Apples 
Feb.  8. 

Pea  Soup    . 

Rolls  .    .    . 

Butter    .     , 

Apple  Cake 
Feb.  9. 

Beef  Hash  . 

Rolls  .    .    . 

Butter    .    . 

Apple  Sauce 
Feb.  10. 

Oyster  Soup 

Rolls  .    .    . 

Batter    .    . 

Prune  Sauce 
Feb.  13. 

Beef  Croquetts 

Potato  Croquetts 

Rolls  .... 

Butter    .    .    , 

Baked  Apples 
Feb.  14. 

Fish  Chowder 

Rolls  .    .    .    , 

Butter    .     . 

1  Orange     . 


8.41 
4.2! 

2.0  r 

0.7  1 

5.5  I 


10.01 
4.0  I 
0.7  f 
5.3  J 


9.71 
4.0  I 

0.7  r 

6.0  J 


1.8-^ 
.0 


9.61 
4.0! 

0.7  r 

8.0J 

9, 

4.V, 
0.7  f 
4.0J 

6.41 
4.0  ! 

0.7  r 

5.3  J 

9.61 
4.0  I 

0.7  r 

5.3J 

4.01 
4.0  I 
4.0  J- 
0.7  I 
8.0J 


10.01 

4.0  1 

0.7  r 

5.5  J 


20.0 


15.0 


23.6 


35.6 


26.8 


20.9 


24.0 


30.0 


138.8 


126.1 


136.5 


979.3 


648.2 


826.1 


762.5 


738.8 


Feb.  15. 

Tomato  Soup     .    . 

Rolls 

Butter 

Doughnuts  .  .  . 
Feb.  16. 

Escalloped  Fish     . 

Rolls 

Butter 

Baked  Apples  .  . 
Feb.  17. 

Baked  Beans     .    . 

Brown  Bread    .    . 

IRoU 

Butter 

1  Orange  .... 
Feb.  20. 

Corn  Soup     .     .     . 

Rolls 

Butter 

Apple  Sauce  .  . 
Feb.  21. 

Beef  Broth    .    .     . 

Rolls 

Butter 

Gingerbread  .  . 
Feb.  22. 

Baked  Beans     .    . 

Brown  Bread    .     . 

1  Roll 

Butter 

1  Orange  .... 
Feb.  23. 

Escalloped  Oysters 

Rolls 

Butter 

Buns 

Feb.  24. 

Tomato  Soup    .     . 

Rolls 

Butler 

Baked  Apples  .  . 
Feb,  27. 

Potato  Soup .    .    . 

Bolls 

Butter  ..... 

Lemon  -Jelly  .  . 
Feb.  28. 

Pea  Soup  .... 

Rolls 

Butter 

Apple  Cake   .    .     . 


8.4  1 

4.2  I 
2.0  I 
0.7  I 

5.3  I 


9.61 
4.0 
0.7  I 
5.3  J 

9.4] 
4.0 

0.7  1 
4.0  J 

8.41 

4.2 

2.0 

0.7 

5.5 


4.51 
4.0 
0.7 
5.0, 


9.71 
4.0  1 
0.7  I 

8.0  J 

9.61 
4.0  1 
0.7  I 
6.0  J 

9.81 
4.0  1 
0.7] 
4.0. 


19.1 

26.3 

26.8 

24.0 

26.3 

35.6 

13.6 

23.1 

26.3 

20.4 

26.3 

35.6 

24.0 

34.0 

15.0 

19.5 

19.1 

24.9 

23.6 

35.4 

131.4 


139.7 


739.0 


777.2 


979,3 


704.2 


817.5 


979.3 


880.3 


681.8 


875.9 


935.3 


Average 


27.1 


120.2 


827.4 


158  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

This  table  illustrates  the  combinations  which  proved  successful  in  the  case  of  this  set 
of  individuals.  A  still  moi'e  instructive  table  would  be  that  showing  the  combinations 
theoretically  far  better  which  failed  to  please  the  taste ;  but  until  a  wider  range  of  experi- 
ence has  shown  how  far  local  prejudice  may  be  overcome  by  a  little  patience  and  educa- 
tion, it  is  not  worth  while  to  emphasize  the  failures.  All  that  is  here  intended  is  to  show 
that  it  is  possible  to  serve  nutritious  and  palatable  luncheons  to  large  numbers  of  people, 
with  a  sufficient  variety  to  keep  up  the  ajipetite.  In  the  spring,  a  change  was  made  to 
some  lighter  dishes,  and  a  further  study  of  possible  variations  is  in  progress.  No  other 
accessory  —  such  as  tea  or  coffee  —  was  served  in  this  case.  With  a  few  slight  changes  in 
the  way  of  substituting  less  costly  -stews  for  the  oysters,  these  luncheons  could  be  served 
in  quantity  for  a  large  school  for  ten  cents  each. 

Those  interested  in  this  question  will  find  two  most  valuable  papers  on  the  growth  of 
school  children,  by  Dr.  Henry  P.  Bowditch,  one  in  the  eighth  annual  report  (1877,  page 
275),  the  other  in  the  twenty-second  annual  report  (1891,  page  479),  of  the  State  Board 
of  Health  of  Massachusetts. 

The  curves  here  given,  showing  the  increase  in  height  and  weii-ht  of  Boston  school- 
children,  coincide  in  a  very  marked  degree  with  those  on  the  accompanying  diagram. 

It  is,  however,  characteristic  of  the  hitherto  jirevaibng  feeling  in  regard  to  food,  that, 
in  this  exhaustive  paper,  no  mention  is  made  of  the  influence  on  the  physical  develop- 
ment of  children  which  food  exerts  ;  and  yet  no  question  is  of  more  importance  both  for 
the  school  committee  and  for  the  teacher  to  consider. 

It  may  be  argued  that  the  school  has  no  right  to  interfere  with  the  home  life  and 
habits  ;  but  surely  the  director  of  physical  training  has  a  I'ight  to  refuse  to  allow  girls  to 
exercise  in  corsets,  and  has  not  the  teacher  as  much  right  to  refuse  to  urge  on  in  study  a 
starved  l^oy  ?  The  schools  are  potent  factors  in  developing  the  general  ideas  of  the  peo- 
ple, as  well  as  in  teaching  arithmetic  to  the  children  ;  and  with  the  increasing  sociological 
tendencies  of  the  times  an  ever-widening  field  of  influence  is  here  offered. 

THE    FOOD    OF    STUDENTS. 

Second  only  in  importance  to  the  food  of  the  child  is  that  of  the  youth  in  the  second- 
ary school  and  the  college. 

A  glance  at  the  accompanying  diagram  will  show  that  during  the  years  of  student 
life  the  normal  development  of  the  body  requires  an  excess  of  food,  and  that,  if  the  brain 
is  not  to  be  developed  at  the  expense  of  the  body,  a  jealous  watch  must  be  kept  over  the 
food  of  the  young  brain-worker. 

This  care  must  take  into  consideration  two  points  —  sufficient  quantity  and  availa- 
hility ;  for  it  is  not  what  is  eaten,  but  what  is  digested,  which  nourishes,  and  the  young 


SCIENCE    OP    NUTRITION.  159 

student  canuot  well  afford  two  hours  of  rest  after  each  meal  to  allow  the  hard  work  of  the 
stomach  to  be  finished  before  that  of  the  brain  begins. 

If  double  work  is  required  of  a  horse,  he  is  given  double  feed.  All  work  is  one  ; 
work  means  expenditure  of  energy,  whether  in  thinking  or  in  lifting  weights  ;  the  only 
source  of  human  energy  is  the  food  which  is  assimilated  and  made  a  part  of  tlie  body  tis- 
sues (a  very  different  thing  from  the  food  eaten). 

This  fact  is  now  perfectly  well  established,  and  it  should  be  recognized  by  all  educa- 
tors, tlx&t  good  thinking,  like  good  rowing,  requires  jiroper  feeding. 

THE    DIETARY    OP    THE    COLLEGE    STUDENT 

Should  be  a  subject  of  careful  study  by  every  college  faculty,  and  as  great  care  should  be 
exercised  in  selecting  the  steward,  who  is  in  fact  to  determine  the  mental  standard  of  all 
the  students,  as  in  selecting  the  professor  of  Greek  or  History.  When  the  academic  world 
becomes  convinced  of  the  importance  of  this  factor  we  shall  see  a  race  of  American  stu- 
dents far  outstripping  all  others. 

It  would  be  of  great  advantage  to  have  a  friendly  rivalry  in  regard  to  this  side  of 
college  life. 

\VHAT    SHOULD    BE    THE    QUANTITY    AND    CHARACTER    OP    THE    FOOD    OP    THE 
AMERICAN    COLLEGE    STUDENT  ? 

It  depends  upon  many  circumstances,  chiefly  upon  whether  there  is  a  necessity  of 
economy  in  time,  in  money,  or  in  mental  power. 

It  is  because  of  the  remarkable  adaptability  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  to  climate  and 
to  food  that  it  has  been  able  to  girdle  the  globe.  Hence  it  has  come  to  be  a  belief  that 
man  could  eat  anything  and  everything,  and  that  his  food  was  of  less  consequence  than 
anything  else.  Certain  unmistakable  signs,  however,  point  to  the  fact  that  there  is  a 
limit  to  this  adaptability,  or  at  least  to  the  speed  with  which  it  may  be  safely  accom- 
plished. The  latter  is  the  more  probable  reason.  A  family  is  now  able  to  entirely  change 
its  surroundings  in  a  few  days  to  a  degree  which  formerly  required  years  to  accomplish. 

In  order  to  gain  even  a  little  light  on  this  question,  another  experiment  was  tried 
during  the  same  year  (1892),  in  order  to  determine  the  amount  and  character  of  food 
taken  by  students  at  hard  work  (mostly  young  men  of  eighteen  to  twenty-two),  when 
they  had  a  certain  range  of  choice.  A  lunch-room  patronized  by  between  three  and  four 
hundred  was  furnished  with  the  same  soups,  bread,  rolls  and  baked  beans  as  those  sent  to 
the  young  women.  In  addition,  pies,  cakes,  cold  meats  and  salads  were  furnished ;  also 
coffee,  milk,  and  chocolate.  Instead  of  a  definite  luncheon  for  a  fixed  price,  each  portion 
was  served  separately  and  the  student  made  up  his  own  list,  thus  giving  a  wide  range  of 
selection.  For  a  term  or  half-year,  beginning  September  26,  1892,  and  ending  January  9, 
1893,  a  careful  account  was  kept  of  the  food  used. 


160  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

Although  the  figures  must  be  accepted  as  only  approximate,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  composition  of  the  pies,  cakes,  etc.,  made  outside  the  New  England  Kitchen  can  only 
be  estimated  and  not  accurately  calculated,  yet  they  are  sufficiently  correct  to  furnish  a 
basis  for  further  work.  The  average  amount  spent  for  lunches  was  21  cents — ranging 
from  15  to  30  cents. 

The  average  food-value  per  person  was  : 

Proteid.  Fat.  Carbohydrates.  Calories. 

29  grams.  37.3  grams.  106.6  grams.  894.8  grams. 

The  proportion  of  the  proteid  to  fats  is  very  suggestive,  and  confirms  Prof.  Atwater's 
views  that  far  more  fat  is  eaten  in  America  than  Germany.  This  is  well  shown  by  a  com- 
parison of  these  figures  with  those  given  on  the  diagram  for  the  same  ages.  Americans 
seem  to  eat  far  more  fat  and  sugar,  and  consequently  less  starch,  than  the  average  Ger- 
man. How  far  this  is  due  to  climate  and  to  habit,  or  to  the  fact  that  it  is  not  necessary  in 
this  country  to  live  so  largely  on  bread,  remains  to  be  studied.  It  should  however,  be 
considered  in  providing  for  American  students. 

The  experiment  has  continued  now  for  three  years  on  the  same  lines,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered to  prove  that  a  limited  variety  of  uniformly  well-prepared  food  will  be  taken  even 
by  that  capricious  animal,  a  young  student. 

In  connection  with  the  marked  increase  of  the  sugar  and  fat  there  arises  another  vital 
question  in  physiological  chemistry.  The  old  adage,  "  After  breakfast  walk  a  mile,  after 
dinner  sleep  awhile,"  was  founded  on  experience  in  the  time  when  starch  in  the  form  of 
more  or  less  heavy  bread,  and  of  potatoes  and  fat  in  the  form  of  pork,  was  the  chief 
source  of  the  carbohydrates  and  fat  taken.  Does  the  same  hold  true  at  this  date,  when 
the  more  readily  assimilated  butter  rei)laces  pork,  and  when  the  already  partly-digested 
sugar  replaces  a  part  of  the  starch,  and  when  the  light,  fine  wheat-bread  taxes  much  less 
the  power  of  digestion  ?  In  other  words,  how  far  is  it  physiologically  correct  to  encour- 
age brain  workers  to  omit  the  after-dinner  rest  by  furnishing  them  with  a  noon  meal 
which  will  not  so  tax  all  their  bodily  powers  as  to  leave  nothing  available  for  mental 
work?  For  my  own  part,  I  believe  that  whatever  may  be  the  case  for  tlie  morning  and 
evening  meal,  the  character  of  the  food  taken  during  the  working  hours  of  students 
should  be  such  as  to  sustain  the  supply  of  force-producing  material  in  the  blood,  without 
requiring  a  large  per  cent,  of  the  force  already  at  hand  to  convert  the  food  eaten  into  new 
force-producing  material. 

Herein  lies  a  new  problem  in  the  conservation  of  energy,  and  of  that  most  j^roductive 
of  all  forms  of  energy,  that  of  human  thought. 

Until  this  law  is  apprehended  and  applied,  we  do  not  know  of  how  much  the  American 
student  may  be  capable. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 


161 


—JxaiTw -viv  a,  V"?^o-ivM . 


This  diagram  is  only  an  approximate  statement  of  observed  facts.  The  value  of  such 
generalizations  lies  in  the  number  of  observations  upon  which  they  are  based,  and  in  this 
case  they  are  too  few  for  a  final  decision.     Further,  the  facts  are  from  German  sources  al- 


162  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

most  exclusively,  because  no  others  gave  the  whole  series  ;  and  it  seemed  better  to  adhere 
to  a  uuiform  standard  of  calculation  in  view  of  the  great  gajDS  in  our  knowledge.  It  is 
given  in  this  imperfect  state  in  order  to  induce  a  fuller  study  of  the  question. 

From  what  we  do  know  of  the  American  standards,  it  seems  probable  that  the  curve 
of  carbohydrates  would  be  less  marked,  and  that  the  curve  of  fats  would  be  nearly  coinci- 
dent with  that  of  the  proteids  except  in  that  part  showing  the  amount  from  the  tenth  to 
the  twentieth  year  if  drawn  to  represent  American  practice. 

The  steepness  of  the  curve  of  carbohydrates  shows  the  need  of  a  full  supply  of  the 
material  which  serves  as  the  source  of  power  for  the  very  great  activity  of  youth.  The 
child  naturally  runs  all  day  long ;  the  activity,  the  amount  of  work  done,  is  enormously 
in  excess  of  that  done  in  after  life,  aimless  though  it  may  seem.  It  is  none  the  less  work 
because  it  is  work  of  heart  and  lungs,  and  muscular  exercise  in  play.  It  is  useful  work, 
in  that  it  builds  up  a  structure  for  the  grown  man  to  use  ;  it  is  the  building  time,  and  the 
building  cannot  be  well  made,  strongly  put  together,  without  it.  This  intense  activity  is 
•required  for  the  metabolism  of  the  tissue,  which  is  also  rapid,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  curve 
of  proteid.  If  the  weight  of  the  individual  at  different  ages  were  taken  into  account,  this 
would  be  even  more  marked. 


THE  RUMFORD  KITCHEN  LEAFLETS. 

No.  14. 


PROPHYLACTIC  AND  THERAPEUTIC  VALUE  OF  FOOD. 

Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Public  Health  Association,  Chicago, 
Oct.  19, 1893,byELLENH:.  Richards. 

The  views  now  held  concerning  the  causation  and  prevention  of  disease  lead  us  to 
hope  that  a  new  era  is  dawning  for  the  study  of  food  in  its  relation  to  health  and  sickness. 

Mrs.  Abel  has  chosen  for  the  motto  of  the  series  of  Rumford  Kitchen  Leaflets  the 
following  saying  of  Donders,  which  was  first  quoted  by  Voit :  "  He  who  works  with  all 
his  strength  on  the  development  of  our  knowledge  of  food  and  nutrition,  and  who  also 
persistently  strives  to  apply  the  results  of  investigation,  is  working  on  a  broad  basis  for 
the  development  of  mankind." 

No  body  of  men  can  be  more  interested  in  the  application  of  scientific  knowledge  to 
daily  life  than  the  members  of  the  Public  Health  Association,  or  more  keenly  alive  to  the 
liability  to  mistake  on  the  part  of  enthusiasts,  and  certainly  no  body  of  men  can  so 
warmly  sympathize  with  those  who  are  striving  to  bring  well  known  facts  into  general  cir- 
culation in  the  face  of  difficulty  and  discouragement.  As  Count  Rumford  so  well  stated 
it :  "  The  slowness  with  which  improvements  of  all  kinds  make  their  way  into  common 
use,  and  especially  such  impi'ovements  as  are  the  most  calculated  to  be  of  general  utility, 
is  very  remarkable,  and  forms  a  striking  contrast  to  the  extreme  avidity  with  which  those 
unmeaning  changes  are  adopted,  which  folly  and  caprice  are  continually  bringing  forth 
and  sending  into  the  world  under  the  auspices  of  fashion." 

But  Count  Rumford  worked  almost  alone  and  far  in  advance  of  his  time,  while  we 
can  count  on  the  symj^athy  and  support  of  scores  of  able  men,  and  it  is  for  that  reason 
that  we  appeal  to  you  for  cooperation,  suggestion,  and  criticism.  The  world  at  present 
needs  most  of  all  what  I  have  elsewhere  called  a  standard  of  health,  a  normal  "  well- 
being." 

Given  a  well-built,  smoothly-working  bodily  machine  placed  under  good  conditions  in 
a  wholesome  environment,  and  it  is  chiefly  a  question  of  good  food  as  to  how  nearly  the 
standard  can  be  kept  up. 


Copyright,  1893,  by  Ellen  H.  Richards. 


164  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

As  a  good  workman  can  do  better  work  with  a  poor  tool  than  a  poor  workman  can 
do  with  a  good  tool,  so  a  man  with  skill  derived  from  knowledge  can  often  make  better 
use  of  a  body  crippled  by  accident  or  inheritance  than  his  neighbor  can  of  a  perfect  equip- 
ment. Many  a  structure  is  strengthened  by  a  brace  here  and  a  bolt  there  until  it  long 
outlasts  a  better-built  one  :  so  the  right  kind  and  quantity  of  food,  with  rigid  abstinence 
from  irritating  or  clogging  substances,  may  so  strengthen  a  weak  heart  or  a  feeble  consti- 
tution that  the  natural  term  of  life  may  be  reached  in  comparative  comfort.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  delicately  adjusted  machine  may  be  thrown  into  disorder  by  a  very  slight 
indiscretion  which  may  not  matter  for  once,  but  which,  repeated,  wears  a  groove  which 
deepens  more  and  more  until  it  is  in  danger  of  stopping  the  machinery. 

A  great  need  of  the  present  time  is  a  better  standard  of  health,  a  test  measure  of  the 
duty  (used  in  the  engineering  sense)  of  the  human  body.  The  engineer  knows  how  much 
his  engine  is  intended  to  do,  and  he  chooses  that  fuel  and  that  lubricant  which  will  enable 
the  task  to  be  accomplished.  Each  human  machine  has  a  certain  capacity  of  work,  a  cer- 
tain load  under  which  it  works  best ;  each  individual  can,  generally  speaking,  if  he  will, 
control  this  load  or  strain  so  as  to  get  the  full  duty  of  the  machine.  Here  also  it  is  fuel 
and  lubricant,  that  is,  food  and  enjoyment  of  work. 

To  be  well  means  to  have  good  spirits,  good  temper,  and  a  certain  elasticity  or  capac- 
ity to  do  more  than  the  normal  without  passing  the  limit  of  recovery.  In  this  "  well-be- 
ing," this  "feeling  like  a  fighting  cock,"  in  homely  phrase,  lies,  in  the  main,  as  we  believe, 
the  secret  of  resistance  to  disease.  Therefore  to  keep  the  body  in  good  working  condi- 
tion seems  to  be  also  to  render  it  most  resistant  to  the  inroads  of  disease.  The  power 
of  accommodation  is  such  in  this  delicate  machine  that  the  most  diverse  substances  can 
be  utilized,  and  the  range  of  substances  found  useful  for  human  nutrition  is  very  wide,  so 
wide  that  man  has  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  it  made  no  difference  what  he  ate  ;  and 
while  to  a  certain  extent  this  may  be  true  in  a  state  of  robust  health  and  active  exercise, 
it  is  far  from  it  when  once  the  balance  has  been  disturbed  and  the  machinery  is  working 
badly,  so  that  in  the  case  of  inherited  weakness  or  of  accidental  disability  food  becomes  of 
more  importance,  and  the  cause  of  public  health  would  gain  much  and  public  temper  still 
more  if  this  fact  could  be  generally  recognized. 

It  is  the  day  of  "small  things"  —  quantities  formerly  considered  insignificant  are 
now  held  responsible  for  great  disorders. 

An  excess  of  food  over  the  supply  of  chemical  agents  in  the  alimentary  canal  causes 
imperfect  decomposition,  and  leads  to  irritability,  if  it  does  not  leave  poisonous  products 
to  be  more  or  less  absorbed  into  the  blood  ;  a  danger  the  greater  because  often  quite  un- 
suspected. 

This  intimate  connection  of  good  food  and  good  temper  might  be  emphasized  to 
advantage  both  in  school  and  in  society. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION.  165 

T\\e  prophylactic  value  of  food  is  then  to  keep  the  human  body  in  a  high  condition  of 
health.  For  this  there  seems  to  be  no  general  rule,  since  individual  idiosyncrasies  and 
mental  conditions  exercise  a  marked  influence  on  capacity  for  utilization  of  nourishment. 
The  main  object  to  be  gained  is  to  establish  a  higher  standard  of  health  in  the  community, 
to  make  as  widely  known  as  possible  the  fact  that  much  of  the  ill-health  now  prevalent  is 
needless,  that  a  little  self-denial,  a  little  more  attention  to  the  rules  of  hygiene,  a  little 
more  living  in  the  open  air,  would  cause  a  large  part  of  the  disturbances  of  health  now 
so  common  to  disappear. 

Self-indulgence  and  a  deep-seated  superstition  that  medicine  can  take  away  all  evil 
consequences  lead  men  to  swallow  the  pill  and  throw  away  the  sound  advice  which  usu- 
ally accompanies  it. 

A  man  will  attribute  a  headache  in  the  morning  to  anything  rather  than  to  the  dinner 
of  the  night  before. 

Drugs,  however  useful  in  emergencies,  can  never  take  the  place  of  the  daily  food ; 
if  that  is  clean,  wholesome,  and  right  in  kind  and  quantity,  there  is  little  chance  for 
disease  to  find  a  foothold ;  but  once  let  the  normal  life  be  disturbed,  and  the  importance  of 
the  food  taken  rises  rapidly. 

The  therapeutic  value  of  food  it  is  hardly  possible  to  estimate.  It  is  often  the  one 
determining  factor  in  the  question  of  recovery  —  more  often  than  one  likes  to  think  in 
view  of  the  ignorance  and  carelessness  so  often  seen  in  feeding  the  sick. 

Still  more  in  sickness  than  in  health  food  should  be  such  that  it  furnishes  sufficient 
nourishment,  but  not  more  than  can  be  assimilated  by  a  sj^stem  weakened  by  disease. 

A  knowledge  of  the  right  proportions  of  the  essential  food  substances,  and  of  the 
absolute  quantity  or  food  value  of  the  food  given  to  the  very  sick,  is  necessary  to  the  phy- 
sician, if  not  to  the  nurse.  How  many  a  life  has  been  lost  because  of  a  lack  of  this 
knowledge  the  world  will  never  know. 

Therefore,  we  believe  that  when  medical  schools  teach  so  thoroughly  the  principles 
of  physiological  chemistry,  and  of  the  science  of  nutrition,  already  well  known,  that  the 
physician  becomes  perfectly  conversant  with  the  food  values  of  the  different  articles  of 
food  which  he  prescribes,  and  with  the  appearance  they  present  when  they  are  properly 
prepared,  then  the  percentage  of  recovery  will  be  largely  increased. 

At  present  there  are  comparatively  few  persons  who  are  called  upon  to  feed  the  sick 
to  whom  a  glass  of  milk  or  a  pound  of  beef  represent  any  definite  amount  of  food  mate- 
rials. Still  fewer  who  can  tell  how  much  food-value  a  glass  of  lemon  jelly  or  wine  whey 
represents,  and  yet  the  adult  patient  is  dependent  upon  the  attendant  even  more  than  the 
week-old  infant  for  the  requisite  nutrition. 

The  time  is  surely  ripe  for  some  definite  experiments  in  this  line,  and  as  it  is  so  often 
the  first  step  that  costs,  the  first  plunge  that  gives  the  cold  chill  of  disenchantment  or  dis- 


166  THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 

appointment,  I  venture  to  make  the  next  step,  that  of  criticism,  easier,  and  have  given  in 
the  following  tables  some  suggestive  combinations,  in  the  hope  that  some  one  favorably 
situated  and  philosophically  inclined  may  carry  on  the  investigation. 

From  the  experiments  made  by  the  best  investigators,  it  seems  probable  that  only 
about  one-third  of  the  daily  ration  is  available  for  kinetic  force ;  that  is,  that  only  about 
one-third  of  the  total  energy  contained  in  the  daily  food  can  be  utilized  in  digging  trenches, 
carrying  bricks,  climbing  mountains,  designing  bridges,  or  writing  poems  and  essays. 

The  other  two-thirds  is  used  up  in  the  internal  work  of  the  body,  the  action  of  the 
heart,  lungs,  and  the  production  of  the  large  amount  of  heat  necessary  to  life. 

If  this  is  the  case,  then  we  may  make  out  a  life  ration,  or  that  amount  of  food  which 
is  necessary  in  order  to  keeji  the  human  machine  in  existence  witliout  any  special  accom- 
plishment of  either  body  or  mind,  and  a  work  ration  which  includes  the  amount  of  food 
required  by  the  human  machine  in  order  to  produce  results  either  physical  or  mental. 

For  this  climate,  and  for  the  habits  of  our  people,  I  have  estimated  this  life  ration  as 
approximately : 


Proteid.                                       Fat.                                      Carbohydrate. 

Calories. 

75  grams.                          40  grams.                              325  grams. 

2,000 

nd  the  maximum  and  minimum  work  ration  as  : 

Proteid,                                       Fat.                                       Carbohydrate. 

Calories. 

125  grams.                        125  grams.                            450  grams. 

3,500 

110       «*                              90      "                                 420      " 

3,000 

An  examination  of  the  actual  dietaries  of  some  of  the  very  poor  who  eat  just 
enough  to  live,  without  doing  any  work,  shows  that  in  twelve  cases  the  average  was  : 

Proteid.  Fat.  Carbohydrate.  Calories. 

81  grams.  88  grams.  272  grams.  2,257 

The  forty-eight  grams  of  fat  would  thus  seem  to  be  the  chief  source  of  the  little 
energy  these  people  showed.  However  far  out  we  may  be  in  this  calculation,  it  will  serve 
its  purpose  as  a  working  hypothesis  to  enable  us  to  determine  the  true  standard.  Taking 
this  as  a  basis,  I  have  made  out  the  following  tables  of  some  dietaries  for  the  sick,  that  is, 
for  the  generality  of  cases  where  no  very  wide  departure  from  normal  diet  is  required, 
only  where  a  lessened  quantity  and  a  liquid  form  is  indicated. 

These  tables  show  how  difficult  it  is  to  secure  sufficient  food  in  a  li(juid  form,  and 
how  important  it  is  to  turn  some  of  our  scientific  study  in  this  direction. 

The  full  allowance  of  three  quarts  in  twenty-four  hours  must  be  taken  of  nearly  any 
sort  of  liquid  food,  and  no  one  kind  is  sufficient  in  itself,  so  that  a  variety  is  required. 

For  instance,  three  quarts  of  milk  would  give 

Proteid.  Fat.  Carbohydrate.  Calories. 

102  grams.  108  grams.  132  grams.  1,953 


THE    SCIENCE    OP    NUTRITION.  167 

which  is  about  the  right  amount  of  calories,  but  far  too  much  fat  and   too   little  carbohy- 
drate according  to  most  authorities. 

It  would  be  necessary  to  use  skimmed  milk,  and  the  danger  of  partial  decomposition 
or  deterioration  of  the  milk  while  waiting  for  the  cream  to  rise  is  a  serious  objection  to 
general  use  unless  milk  from  the  centrifugal  separator  can  be  had.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
three  quarts  of  beef  broth  or  consomme  were  given,  the  patient  would  have  only  — 

Proteid.  Fat.  Carbohydrate.  Calories. 

123  grams.  3  grams.  .     .     .  532 

This  would  furnish  too  little  fat  and  no  carbohydrates,  and  only  about  one-fourth  of 
the  total  amount  of  heat  necessary.  The  soup  as  made  at  the  Munich  Hospital  is  much 
better,  as  it  contains  — 

Proteid.  Fat.  Carbohydrate.  Calories. 

21.6  grams.  21.6  grams.  108  grams.  730 

One  pound  of  lean  steak  and  three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  rice  (weighed  uncooked) 
yield  the  full  life  ration. 

To  illustrate  how  little  these  points  are  appreciated  we  have  only  to  turn  to  one  of 
the  best  of  invalid  cookery  books  just  published,  and  find  that  the  rations  which  are  given 
as  guides  to  nurses,  when  the  physician  has  left  the  food  to  their  judgment,  prove  far  too 
low.     For  instance : 


Proteid. 

Fat. 

Carbohydrate. 

Calories, 

24.5  grams. 

28.5  grams. 

65.6  grams. 

631 

66.5       " 

23.5       « 

83.5        " 

831 

These  are  only  one-half,  or  even  one-third  enough,  according  to  theory,  and  the 
amount  of  liquid  is  also  below  the  standard. 

I  was  pleased  to  find  in  an  article  by  Dr.  W.  Prausnitz,  on  the  food  of  German  hos- 
pitals, calculations  giving  results  not  very  different  from  those  arrived  at  by  myself.^  He 
gives  as  the  standard  : 

Proteid.  Fat.  Carbohydrate.  Calories. 

For  a  man,  110  grams.  50  grams.  350  to  400  grams.  2,350 

For  a  woman,        100       "  50       "  300  to  350       "  2,100 

The  following  tables  will  serve  as  a  summary  of  the  points  which  I  have  attempted 
to  illustrate.  It  is  to  be  remarked  that  food  prepared  for  the  very  sick  should  be  nearly 
all  digestible,  while  that  for  the  well  person  contains  at  least  10  per  cent,  and  more  fre- 
quently 15  per  cent,  of  indigestible  material. 


1  TJeber  die  Kost  in  Krankenhausern  mit  besonderer  Beriicksichtigung  der  Miinchener  Verhaltnisse.     Von 
Dr.  W.  Prausnitz,  Deutsche  Vierteljahrschrift  fur  olfentlicbe  Gesundheitspflege,  1893.    Band  25.    Seite  563. 


168 


THE   SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 
ESTIMATED  LIFE  KATION. 


Proteid, 
grams. 

Fat, 
grams. 

Carbo- 
hydrates, 
grams. 

Calories. 

For  one  day 

75 

40 

325 

2,000 

ESTIMATED  WOEK  RATION,  MAXIMUM  AND  MINIMUM. 


For  one  day 


125 
110 


125 
90 


450 
420 


3,500 
3,000 


A  COMMON  INVALID  RATION,  TOO  LOW  IN  CARBOHYDRATES. 


1  pint  beef  juice,  containing  7  per  cent 

1  pint  whole  milk    .... 

.31.5 

17 

18.2 

18 
18.2 

22 
38 

129.0 
325.5 

1  quart  flour  gruel  made  with  whole  milk 

397.9 

2  quarts  of  liquid.                                                          Total, 

G6.7 

36.2 

60 

852.4 

A  COMMON  INVALID  RATION,  TOO  LOW  IN  PROTEID. 


1  pint  beef  broth  or  consomme 

1  pint  dried  fruit  soup 

1  pint  lemon  whey ,     . 

1  pint  Imperial  Granum,  containing  3  ounces 


2  quarts  of  liquid. 


Total, 


20.6 

6.8 


27.3 


0.5 

21.5 
0.4 


22.4 


50 
79 


193 


88.7 
205.0 
521.7 
294.0 


1,109.4 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 
AN  IDEAL  RATION  WITH  SOLID  FOOD. 


169 


Amount. 

Proteid. 

Fat. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Material. 

a 
t 
o 

o 

C 

O 

1 

C3 

R 

O 

02 
0) 

y 

c 

O 

s 

m 

0) 

o 
c 

O 

0) 

1 
la 
O 

Bread    

Meat 

453.6 

226.8 

226.8 

28.3 

113.4 

453.6 

28.3 

14.17 

16 
8 
8 
1 
4 

16 
1 

31.75 
34.02 
12.52 
6.60 
3.63 
18.14 

0.14 

1.12 
1.20 
0.44 
0.23 
0.18 
0.64 

2.26 
11.34 
2.04 
7.50 
4.42 
18.14 

12.27 

0.08 
0.40 
0.07 
0.26 
0.16 
0.64 

257.28 

9.60 

4.88 

90.72 

27.36 

9.04 

0.34 
0.17 
3.20 
0.96 

1,206.82 
243.72 

Oysters 

70.01 

Breakfast  Cocoa     

Milk 

Broth 

135.42 

75.55 

613.21 

Sugar     

Butter 

112.17 
118.62 

Total 

— 

106.80 

— 

57.97 

— 

389.84 

— 

2,575.52 

AN  IDEAL  RATION  OF  LIQUID  FOOD. 


Material. 


Beef  broth  or  consomme 

To  which  has  been  added  one  large  egg,  minus 

shell 

Dried  fruit  soup 

Lemon  jelly 

Whole  milk 

Rice  or  arrowroot 

Grape  sugar,  or  some  one  of  the  prepared  foods 

(dry) 


Total 


Amount. 


1  pint 

2  oz. 
1  quart 
Yz  pint 
1  quart 

3  oz.  (dry) 

4  oz.  (dry) 


Proteid, 
grams. 


20.05 

7.1 

6.5 

34.0 

6.3 

2.5 


76.9 


Fat, 
grams. 


0.5 


36.0 
0.3 


43.6 


2.5  quarts 

to 
3.0  quarts,  according  to  how  the  rice  is  given. 


Carbo- 
hydrates, 
grams. 


100. 
12.5 
44.0 
67.2 

100.0 


323.7 


Calories. 


88.70 

91.67 
410.00 

77.90 
651.00 
304.11 

420.25 


2,043.63 


170 


THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 


A  EATION  RICH  IN  PROTE ID  —  AFTER  ACUTE  DISEASE. 


Material 

Am't 
grams. 

Am't 
ounces. 

Proteid, 
grams. 

Fat, 
grams. 

Carbo- 
hydrates, 
grams. 

Calories. 

Bread 

453.6 
453.6 
453.6 
453.6 
14.17 
56.7 

16 
16 
16 
16 

31.75 

64.04 

29.02 

4.60 

0.14 

2.26 
22.68 
18.00 

3.25 
12.27 

257.28 

39.00 
1.14 

54.72 

1,205.81 

487.62 
444  48 

Meat . 

Milk  witliout  cream 

Coffee  or  tea  with  cream 

Butter 

53.43 
118  62 

Sugar  

224.35 

Less  10  per  cent,  for  indigestibility  ,     .     .     . 

— 

— 

129.55 
12.95 

58.46 
5.84 

352.14 
35.21 

2,534.31 
253.43 

Total 

— 

116.60 

52  62 

316.93 

2,280.88 

A  WORK  RATION  FOR  A  PROFESSIONAL  OR  LITERARY  MAN. 


Material. 

Ounces. 

Proteid, 
grams. 

Fat, 
grams. 

Carbo- 
hydrates, 
grams. 

Calories. 

Bread    

Meat 

16 
16 
1 
4 
8 
4 
4 
6 
3 
2 
1 
8 
30 

32. 

50. 

18. 

7, 

4. 

3. 
10. 

1. 

1.5 

0.5 

3. 
30. 
25. 

18. 
1. 
3. 

9. 

0.5 

6.5 

258. 

110. 
22. 

38. 

4. 

1. 

50. 

1,216.6 
481.0 

Butter 

Sugar ... 

Milk 

Oysters 

Soup 

Potatoes .     , 

230.0 
451.0 
329.6 
37.8 
44.0 
168.1 

Eeers 

123  8 

Oatmeal .     . 

Cream 

Fruit . 

Additional  liquid,  tea,  coffee  or  water     .    .    . 

25.1 

70.1 

207.1 

Total 

— 

127.0 

96.0 

483. 

3,384.2 

DIETARIES    FOR   THIRTY  DAYS. 


In  order  that  the  greatest  economy  which  is  consistent  with  sufficient  nutrition  may 
be  secured  without  spending  more  time  in  saving  a  few  cents  a  day  than  the  money  is 
worth,  the  following  tables  have  been  prepared  on  the  basis  of  the  retail  prices  of  food 
purchased  in  the  Boston  market,  in  small  quantities,  in  the  spring  of  1891.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  very  short  crop  of  domestic  potatoes  and  the  heavy  duty  or  tax  imposed 
upon  Canadian  potatoes,  the  price  of  that  most  important  vegetable  was  excessive  at  the 
date  of  that  compilation.  The  retail  prices  of  the  tougher  portions  of  meat  and  the  best 
kinds  of  grain  and  vegetables  in  Boston  in  the  spring  of  1891  will  be  found  on  the  next 
page.  Vegetables  then  rated  at  a  higher  price  than  usual,  on  account  of  the  great  scarcity 
of  potatoes. 

The  following  table  gives  the  prices  of  small  quantities  of  food  in  fifteen  varieties  at 
the  present  time,  May,  1895,  in  the  Boston  market.  This  table  has  not  been  made  in  any 
due  proportion,  but  is  consistent  with  about  the  right  proportions  of  grain,  meat  and  vege- 
table food.  If  this  quantity  were  cooked  at  one  time,  there  would  be  not  less  than  fifteen 
pounds  of  water  added  in  the  process  of  cooking.  That  would  make  one  hundred  pounds 
of  cooked  food  ready  for  consumption.  If  we  take  the  average  of  adult  men  or  women,  it 
IS  not  probable  that  any  average  number  would  consume  more  than  three  pounds  a  day  each 
from  this  dietary.  That  would  give  a  cost  of  nine  cents  per  day,  to  which  might  be  added 
butter,  if  desired,  tea,  coffee  and  fruit.  Any  one  may  substitute  the  better  cuts  of  meat 
for  the^ cheap  cuts  listed  in  this  dietary,  and  on  that  compute  daily  rations  at  a  higher  cost. 

1.  6  pounds  Beef,  shin,  at  3  cents  per  pound     ...,.>.,  18  cents. 

2.  4  "       Mutton,  flank,  at  4  cents  per  pound 16  " 

3.  2  "       Salt  Pork,  at  8  cents  per  pound 16  « 

4.  2  "       Suet,  at  4  cents  per  pound 8  " 

5.  2  "       Oleo.,  at  15  cents  per  pound  .          ,          30  " 

6.  6  «       Fish,  at  5  cents  per  pound 30  " 

7.  3  "       Skim-Milk,  at  2  cents  per  pound 6  " 

8.  10       "       Potatoes,  at  1\  cents  per  pound 13      " 

9.  10       "       Vegetables,  at  2^  cents  per  pound  .     < 25      " 

10.  2       "       Cheese,  at  14  cents  per  pound 28      " 

11.  24       "       Flour 55      " 

12.  3  "  Oatmeal,  at  4  cents  per  pound        12  " 

13.  3  "  Cornmeal,  at  2^  cents  per  pound 8  " 

14.  6  "  Hominy,  at  4  cents  per  pound 24  " 

15.  2  "  Sugar,  at  5  cents  per  pound .  10  " 

85  pounds  (4-15  of  water  used  in  cooking  =  100)       ....     S2.99 


172 


THE  SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION. 


Beef — average  of  neck, 
shin,  flank,  and  some 
of  the  better  portions, 
omitting  expensive 
cuts,     . 

Beef  suet,  selected, 

Beef,  corned, 

Beef  liver. 

The  cheaper  parts  of 
mutton, 

Corned  pork, 

Salt  pork,  varying  in 
different  years,  now, 

Smoked  ham, 

Bacon,     . 

Sausage  of  good  quality. 

Veal,  the  cheaper  parts, 

The  cheaper  kinds  of 
fresh  fish,     . 

Salt  cod, 


Per  lb. 


6  cents. 
5  to  6 
6 


12 
12 
16 


6  to  8 

8 


Per  lb. 

Halibut  Nape, 

. 

5  cents 

"Whole  milk,    . 

,        . 

8      " 

Skimmed  milk. 

,        , 

4      " 

A  good  quality  of  cheese, 

16      " 

A  fair  quality  of  butter, 

28  to  32      " 

Corn  meal, 

. 

2^  to    3      " 

Oatmeal, 

. 

4  to    5      " 

Cracked  wheat. 

,        . 

5      " 

Split   pease    and 

dried 

whole  pease, 

7  to   9      " 

White  beans,  . 

. 

7  to    8      " 

Rice, 

,       , 

6  to  10      " 

Hominy, 

. 

4      " 

Potatoes,  very  scarce,     . 

2K  " 

Turnips, 

2K" 

Onions,  scarce. 

5      " 

Beets, 

6      " 

Carrots,  . 

2}i  to  3      " 

Squash,  . 

3      " 

Cabbage, 

2A  " 

What  can  be  bought  in  Brookline,  Mass.,  at  retail  prices  for  half  a  dollar  in 
July,  1891. 

1  pound  of  flour, .        .        .        .    2%  cents. 

1  pound  shin  of  beef  or  mutton  flank, 5^  " 

%  pound  suet, 1>^  " 

%  pound  salt  codfish, 4  " 

>i  pound  oatmeal, 2  " 

}i  pound  hominy, 2  '* 

yi  pound  corn  meal, 1%  " 

1  pound  potatoes, 2^  " 

%  pound  onions,  \%  " 

}i  pound  beets, 2>^  " 

%  pound  carrots, 2  '* 

^  pound  split  pease, 4  '* 

%  pound  butter  (fair,) 14  *• 

yi  pound  dried  currants, 4^  " 

8  pounds,  60  *♦ 


THE   SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION. 


173 


What  can  be  bought  for  a  quarter  of  a  dollar 


12  oz.  flour, 


lb. 


13 
2 

3 


10 

2 
4 

2 


neck  beef,  j^ 

beef  suet,  yi 

salt  cod,  )£ 

oatmeal,  J^ 

hominy,  }i 

potatoes,]  ^ 
onions,    j 

sugar,  X 
butter, 


% 


1  pint  milk. 


2    c.  per  lb., 
5  " 


4  '* 

4  " 

^%       " 

5  " 

6  " 
32 

8  c.  quart, 


Tea  or  coffee  2  cups,  or  one  cup  each, 


Enough  for  two  women  at  moderate  work. 


1>^ 

cents. 

3^ 

% 

2 

2 

2 

2 

IK 

4 

4 

28 

2 

25 


In  making  up  the  subsequent  tables,  Flour  Grain,  Eoots  and  other  vegetables, 
sugar  and  a  moderate  quantity  of  butter  or  suet  are  considered  Constants  in  each 
table.  It  is  assumed  that  these  will  invariably  be  purchased  of  sound  and  good 
quality. 

A  suflBcient  quantity  of  these  constants  is  assigned  to  each  dietary,  containing 
the  right  proportions  of  protein,  starch  and  fat,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  Calories 
to  sustain  the  life  of  an  adult  without  the  addition  of  the  Variables  which  yield 
working  power. 

The  term  ''  Constants  "  is  used  in  a  two-fold  significance.  This  part  of  the  dietary 
may  be  constant  in  the  relative  quantity  of  each  element  named,  but  these  elements 
will  also  be  substantially  constant  in  price  in  any  given  year,  varying  a  little  in 
one  year  as  compared  to  another  mainly  in  ratio  to  the  abundance  or  scarcity  of 
wheat  or  potatoes  in  each  respective  year. 

On  this  basis  of  a  sufficient  quantity  of  cereals,  fat  and  vegetable  food  to 
sustain  the  life  of  an  adult  is  dealt  with,  to  which  meat,  fish,  eggs,  other  vegetables 
and  flavorings  may  be  added  to  the  end  that  working  power  may  be  developed  in 
proportion  to  the  effort  which  is  required  in  each  pursuit.  These  elements  may  be 
added  in  variable  quantities  and  prices  according  to  their  kind. 

The  following  dietaries  have  been  made  up  to  meet  the  requirements  of  persons 
who  are  occupied  in  work  requiring  a  moderate  amount  of  physical  exertion  or  of 
persons  who  are  engaged  in  sedentary  pursuits  who  take  moderate  exercise. 

Each  dietary  consists  of  the  two  divisions  named  Constants  and  Variables. 


174 


i 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 


In  No.  1,  Meat  only  is  added  to  the  Constants. 

No.  2,  Meat  and  substitutes,  eggs,  beans,  pease  and  milk. 

No.  3,  Fish  and  cheese. 

No.  4,  More  grain  is  added,  giving  an  excess  of  starch  at  a  lower  cost,  but 
higher  in  Calories,  because  grains  are  less  digestible. 

Nos.  5,  6  and  7  are  a  little  richer  and  more  varied. 

No.  8  gives  a  purely  vegetarian  diet,  higher  in  Calories  because  less  digestible ; 
and  higher  in  cost  because  animal  food  is  cheaper  in  cost  than  vegetables  when 
consumed  at  a  given  standard  of  nutrition. 

Nos.  9,  10  and  11  are  rich  and  varied,  but  are  so  assorted  that  they  may  be 
adopted  by  any  family  at  a  very  moderate  cost. 


DIETAEIES. 


Table  showing  the  computation  of  the  elementa  of  Dietary  No.  1. 
method  has  been  applied  to  all. 


The  same 


Constants  which  entib  into  the  Subsequent  Dietaries,  Nos.  1  to  12  inclusive. 


ARTICLE.           POUNDS. 

PBOTEm. 

FAT. 

OARBOHYURATE. 

CALORIES 

Flour, 

22 

2.64 

.44 

15.18 

86,520 

Grain, 

12 

1.68 

.84 

7.60 

19,800 

Butter, 

2 

.02 

1.73 

7,280 

Suet, 

% 

1.78 

7,200 

Sugar, 

2 

1.98 

3,600 

Potatoefl, 

10 

.30 

2.10 

4,300 

Beets, 

Carrots, 

Onions, 

Squash, 

•    7 

.18 

.08 

.80 

1,120 

Cabbage, 

Parsnips, 

For  80  days,     67  4.67  4.82  27.31 

For    1  day,         1.90  .165         .160  .910 


79,770 
3,669 


COST  AT  BOSTON 
PRICES,  1891. 
10.55 

.48 
.66 
.12 
.10 
.26 


.25 


.31 
.077 


THE    SCIENCE   OF    NUTEITION. 


UT) 


VARIABLES  IN  TABLE  NO.  1.   SHOWING  METHOD  OF  ANALYSIS  APPLIED  TO  EACH  TABLE. 


Beef,  neck 

or  shin, 

12 

("includine^ 
V    waste    / 

2.00 

.40 

5,200 

.72 

Mutton,  neck, 

,     5 

.62 

.34 

2,476 

.80 

Bacon, 

4 

.40 

3.80 

11,840 

.48 

Beef  liver. 

2 

.40 

.10 

1,120 

.12 

Veal, 

1 

.19 

.03 

460 

.08 

Salt  Pork, 

1 

.03 

.78 

3,160 

.08 

For  30  days, 

25 

3.64 

4.45 

24,256 

1.78 

Total, 

83 

8.31 

9.27 

27.31 

104,026 

14.09 

For  1  day,     3.73 

.277 

.309 

.910 

3,467.5 

.186 

The  food  material  contained  in  the  following  table  of  Constants  would  suflBce 
to  sustain  the  life  of  an  adult  without  the  addition  of  the  Variables  which  are  given 
in  this  and  in  each  subsequent  dietary.  The  Constants  may  be  named  The  Life 
Ration.  The  Variables  added  may  be  named  The  Work  Ration.  The  price  of 
flour  is  given  at  what  it  would  have  cost  by  the  sack  or  barrel  in  the  spring  of 
1891.  All  other  prices  are  for  small  quantities  bought  at  retail.  At  the  time 
of  correcting  proofs  (September),  the  price  of  flour  is  somewhat  higher,  and  of 
potatoes  considerably  lower — the  average  of  all  the  elements  of  the  dietary  about 
the  same. 


DiKTABY,  No 

.  1. 

CONSTANTS. 

OALORIH. 

33  poundi 

s  Flour, 

at 

$0.02^ 

10.55 

3       " 

Oatmeal, 

at 

.04 

.12 

3       " 

Oornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

6       " 

Hominy, 

at 

.Oi/2 

.37 

2      " 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.66 

2       " 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.12 

10       " 

Potatoes, 

at 

.02^ 

.25 

3       " 

Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

2       " 

Carrots, 

at 

.02>^ 

.05 

2       " 

Onions, 

at 

MH 

.11 

2       «' 

Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.10 

57 


J.81         79,770 


176 


THE  SCIENCE   OF  K^UTRITION. 


VARIABLES. 


21 

30un 

ia  Beef,  neck  or  shin, 

at 

.06 

.72 

5 

Neck  of  Mutton, 

at 

.06 

.30 

4 

Bacon, 

at 

.12 

.48 

2 

Beef  liver. 

at 

.06 

.12 

1 

Veal, 

at 

.08 

.08 

1 

Pork, 

at 

.08 

.08 

— 

25 

82 

pounds,  for  30  days, 

11.78 

14.09 

24,266 

104,020 

2.73  pounds  for  1  day, 

.136 

3,467.5 

Oost  per 

week,  95i^  cents. 

Dietary,  No 

.  2. 

CONSTANTS. 

CALORIES. 

22  pounds 

Flour, 

at 

|0.02>^ 

$0.55 

3       " 

Oatmeal, 

at 

.04 

.12 

3      " 

Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

* 

6      " 

Hominy, 

at 

.04^ 

.27 

2       " 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.56 

2       " 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.12 

10       " 

Potatoes, 

at 

.02K 

.25 

3       '« 

Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

2       " 

Carrots, 

at 

.02>^ 

.05 

2       " 

Onions, 

at 

.OS/z 

.11 

2       «' 

Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.10 

57 


f2.8t 


?0.770 


VARIABLES. 

10  pounds  Beef  or  Mutton, 


2 

8 

16 

2 


1)4  doz.  Eggs, 
Beans  and  Pease, 
Skimmed  Milked, 
Suet, 


at 
at 
at 
at 
at 


$0.06 

.18  per  doz. 

.07 

.02 

.06 


$0.60 
.27 
.56 
.30 
.12 


37 


$1.80        29,925 


94    pounds,  total  for  30  days,  $4.16      109,695 

3.1      "         "      "     1  day,  ,139     3,656.5 

Cost  per  week,  97^  cents. 


THB  SCIE]SrCE   OF  ITUTRITIOiT. 


17: 


DiETABY,  NC 

>.  3. 

CONSTANTS. 

CalSBJBS. 

22  pounds  Flour, 
3      "       Oatmeal, 

at 

at 

$0.02K 
.04 

$0.55 
.13 

3      " 

Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

6      " 
2       " 

Hominy, 
Butter, 

at 
at 

.28 

.27 
.56 

2       " 

Suet, 

ac 

.06 

.12 

10      " 

Potatoes, 

at 

.02^ 

.25 

3       " 
2       " 

Cabbages, 
Carrots, 

at 

at 

.03 
.02K 

.09 
.05 

2      " 

Onions, 

at 

.05>^ 

.11 

2       " 
57 

Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.10 
$2.31        79,770 

VARIABLES. 

10  pounds  Beef  or  Mutton, 
2      "      Salt  Codfish, 

at 
at 

10.06 
.08 

$0.60 
.16 

6      «• 

Fresh  Fish, 

at 

.05 

.30 

2      " 

Cheese, 

at 

.16 

.32 

2      " 

Salt  Pork, 

at 

.08 

.16 

2      " 

24 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.12 
$1.66       37,448 

81    pounds,  total  for  80  days, 
3.7      •♦         '♦      "     Iday, 

$3.97      107,318 
.132     3,574.0 

Cost  per  week,  93^  cents. 


Dietary,  No.  4. 

CONSTANTS. 

CALOBmS. 

22  pounds 

5  Flour, 

at 

$0.03>^ 

$0.55 

3       " 

Oatmeal, 

at 

.04 

.13 

1 

3      " 

Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

6      " 

Hominy, 

at 

.04^ 

.27 

2      " 

Butter, 

at 

.38 

.56 

2      " 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.13 

10      " 

Potatoes, 

at 

.02K 

.25 

3      " 

Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

3       '« 

Carrots, 

at 

.03>^ 

.05 

2      " 

Onions, 

at 

.05;^ 

.11 

3       " 

Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.10 

57 


$2.31        79,770 


178 


THE  SCIEN^CE   OF   NUTRITION". 


■' 

VARIABLES. 

5  pounds  Lean  Beef, 
2      •'      Bacon, 

1      " 

Salt  Pork, 

5      " 

Flour, 

2      " 

Rice, 

1      " 

a    « 
1 

Barley, 

Bye, 

Lentils, 

3       '« 

Whole  "Wheat, 

1       " 

Butter, 

33 


80    pounds,  total  for  30  days, 
2.7      "        "      "     Iday, 

Cost  per  week,  88  cents. 


at 

$0.06 

$0.30 

at 

.12 

.24 

9A 

.08 

.08 

at 

.03>i 

.13 

at 

.06 

.12 

at 

.05 

.05 

at 

^03 

.06 

at 

.10 

.10 

at 

.04 

.12 

at 

.28 

.28 

$1,48 

38,885 

$3.79 

118,655 

.126 

3,956 

Dietary,  Fo,  5, 

CONSTANTS. 

CALORIES. 

22  pounds 

i  Flour, 

at 

$0.02>^ 

$0.55 

3      " 

Oatmeal, 

at 

.04 

.12 

3      " 

Oornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

6      " 

Hominy, 

at 

.04K 

.27 

2      ♦• 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.56 

2      " 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.12 

10      " 

Potatoes, 

at 

.02X 

.25 

3      " 

Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

2      " 

Carrots, 

at 

.02>^ 

.05 

2       " 

Onions, 

at 

.05>^ 

.11 

2       " 

Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.10 

57 

$2.31 

79,770 

•        VARIABLES. 

6  pounds 

5  shin  of  Beef, 

at 

$0.06 

$0.36 

2       " 

round  of  Beef, 

at 

.18 

.36 

6       " 

neck  of  Mutton, 

at 

.06 

.36 

2       " 

Eggs, 

at 

.18  doz. 

.27 

1       «' 

Cheese, 

at 

.16 

.16 

30       " 

Skimmed  Milk, 

at 

.02 

.60 

1       " 

"White  Beans, 

at 

.07 

.07 

1       " 

Pease, 

at 

.07 

.07 

4      " 

Halibut,  nape, 

at 

.05 

.20 

2       «' 

Haddock, 

at 

.08 

.16 

THE  SCIBNCB  OF  NUTRITION. 


179 


3  pounds  Salt  Cod, 


66 


Oleomargarine, 

Macaroni, 

Oatmeal, 

Cornmeal, 

Rice, 

Hominy, 


at 

.08 

at 

.16 

at 

.15 

at 

.04 

at 

.03 

at 

.06 

at 

.04 

123    pounds,  total  for  80  days, 
4.1      "        "       "     Iday, 

Oost  per  week,  $1.35. 


24 

16 

30 

04 

06 

06 

04 

—  $3.61 

41,0S1 

$5.82 

120,821 

.194 

4,027. 

DiETULBY,  No.  6. 

CONSTANTS. 

CALOmES. 

22  pounds  Flour, 
3      "       Oatmeal, 

at 
at 

$0.02>^ 
.04 

$0.55 
.12 

3      ' 

Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

6      • 

Hominy, 

at 

.04K 

.27 

2      * 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.56 

2      » 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.12 

10       *' 

Potatoes, 

at 

.02>i 

.25 

3       ' 

Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

2       ' 

Carrots, 

at 

.02>i 

.05 

2       * 

Onions, 

at 

.05^ 

.11 

2       " 
57 

Sugar, 

VARIABLES. 

at 

.05 

.10 
$2.31 

79,770. 

2  pounds  Beef,  shin. 

at 

$0.06 

$0.12 

3      • 

Beef,  round, 

at 

.18 

.54 

1      ♦ 

Beef,  tripe, 

at 

.10 

.10 

3      ' 

Calves'  hearts, 

at 

.06 

.18 

2      « 

Pigs'  feet, 

at 

.05 

.10 

2       ' 

Eggs, 

,      at 

.18  doz. 

.27 

1       ' 

Cheese, 

at 

.16 

.16 

15       ' 

Skimmed  Milk, 

at 

.02 

.30 

IK  ' 

Beans, 

at 

.07 

.11 

IK  • 

'       Pease, 

at 

.07 

.11 

4      ' 

'      Fresh  Fish, 

at 

.08 

.32 

2       « 

'      Salt  Cod, 

at 

.08 

.16 

2       • 

Bacon, 

at 

.12 

.24 

1       ' 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.28 

180 


THE  SCIENCE   OF  NUTKITION". 


3  pounds  Macaroni, 
g      "      Oatmeal, 
yi,  "      Rice, 
]^  "      Hominy, 
1      "      Sugar, 
—  47 


104    pounds,  total  for  30  days, 
3.5       ••          "      "     Iday, 

Cost  per  week,  $1.38 


at 

.15 

.30 

at 

.04 

.08 

at 

.06 

.03 

at 

.04 

.03 

at 

.05 

.05 

13.47 

34,746 

$5.78 

114,516 

.193 

3,817.0 

Dietary,  No.  7. 

CONSTANTS. 

CALORIES. 

33  pounds  Flour, 

at 

$0.02;^ 

$0.55 

3      " 

Oatmeal, 

at 

.04 

.12 

3      « 

Oornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

6      '« 

Hominy, 

at 

.04;^ 

.27 

2      " 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.56 

2       " 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.12 

10       " 

Potatoes, 

at 

.02  >^ 

.25 

3       " 

Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

3       '♦ 

Carrots, 

at 

.02;^ 

.05 

3       " 

Onions, 

at 

.05>^ 

.11 

3       " 

Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.10 

57 

VARIABLES. 

$2.31 

79,770 

5  pounds  Beef,  shin, 

at 

$0.06 

$0.30 

4      " 

Beef,  round. 

at 

.15 

.60 

3      " 

Mutton,  forequarter, 

at 

.10 

.20 

2      " 

Mutton,  neck, 

at 

.06 

.13 

3      " 

Calves'  hearts, 

at 

.05 

.10 

3       " 

Eggs, 

at 

.18  doz. 

.37 

1       " 

Cheese, 

at 

.16 

.16 

15      " 

Skimmed  Milk, 

at 

.03 

.30 

1      " 

Beans, 

at 

.07 

.07 

X  " 

Pease, 

at 

.07 

.04 

3      " 

Halibut,  nape, 

at 

.05 

.10 

8      " 

Haddock, 

at 

.08 

.34 

3      •• 

Salt  Pork, 

at 

.08 

.16 

2      " 

Bacon, 

at 

.12 

.84 

1       " 

Macaroni, 

at 

.15 

.16 

THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 


181 


a  poundij  Cornmeal, 
2      "       Hominy, 
2      *'      Sugar, 
—  50,5 


107.5  pounds,  total  for  80  days, 
3.6        "         ♦•      "     1  day, 

Oost  per  week,  $1.30. 


at 

.04 

.C9 

at 

.04 

.08 

at 

.06 

.10 

$3.31 

42,312 

$5.62 

122,082 

.187 

4,069.4 

Dietary,  No.  8. 

(Vegetable  Di 

et.) 

CONSTANTS. 

22  pound 

B  Flour, 

at 

$0.02>i 

$0.55 

3      " 

Oatmeal, 

at 

.04 

.12 

3      •' 

Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

6      " 

Hominy, 

at 

.04>^ 

.27 

2       " 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.56 

2       " 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.12 

10       " 

Potatoes, 

at 

.02>i 

.25 

3      " 

Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

2       •♦ 

Carrots, 

at 

.02;^ 

.05 

2      " 

Onions, 

at 

.05^ 

.11 

2       " 

Sugar, 

at 

.05  » 

.10 

57 

With  butter  in  place  of  suet,  adding  44  cents  to  cost, 


CALOBIEB. 


$2.31         79,77© 

44 


J.  75 


4  pounds  Pease, 

at 

$0.07 

$0.28 

4      ' 

'       Beans, 

at 

.07 

.28 

2       ♦ 

'      Eggs, 

at 

.18  doz. 

.27 

30       ' 

'      Whole  Milk, 

at 

.03 

.90 

2       ' 

'       Lentils, 

at 

.10 

.20 

3       ' 

'       Oatmeal, 

at 

.04 

.12 

1       ' 

'       Cheese, 

at 

.16 

.16 

1       ' 

'       Barley, 

at 

.05 

.05 

1       ♦ 

'       Buckwheat, 

at 

.05 

.05 

2       ' 

*       Macaroni, 

at 

.15 

.30 

3       ' 

'      Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

2      ' 

'       Hominy, 

at 

.04 

.08 

1      ' 

'      Rye  Meal, 

at 

.03 

.03 

1      ♦ 

'      Hulled  Corn, 

at 

.07 

-07 

182 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 


4  pounds  Cabbage,  at  .03  .12 
2  "  Dried  Apples  or  other  fruit,  at  .12  .24 
—     63  $3.24        53,310 


12C 

pounds,  total  for  30  days, 

$5.99 

133,085 

4 

((          (( 

"     1  day. 

2.00 

4,439.3 

Cost  per  week,  |1.40. 

Dietary,  No.  9. 

CONSTANTS. 

OALOBIES. 

jess  the  2  lbs.  of  Suet,  since  this  meat  will  give  fat  enough. 

22  pounds  Flour, 

at 

$0.02>^ 

$0.55 

3      ' 

'       Oatmeal, 

at 

04 

.12 

3      ' 

'       Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

6      « 

*       Hominy, 

at 

.0A}4 

.27 

2      ' 

'       Butter, 

at 

.28 

.56 

2      ' 

'       Suet, 

at 

.06 

.12 

10      ' 

'       Potatoes, 

at 

.02K 

.25 

3      ' 

'       Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

2      ' 

'       Carrots, 

at 

.02;^ 

.05 

2      ' 

'       Onions, 

at 

.05;^ 

.11 

2      * 

'       Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.10 

5' 

r 

VARIABLES. 

12.31 

— 12=$2.19 

79,770 

2poii 

nds  Beef,  shin. 

« 

at 

$0.06 

$0.12 

6      ' 

*       Beef,  rump, 

at 

.18 

.90 

5      ' 

'      Mutton  leg  and  chops, 

at 

.20 

1.00 

8      ' 

'      Fowl, 

at 

.18 

.64 

1      * 

'      Bacon, 

at 

.12 

.12 

1      • 

'      Salt  Pork, 

at 

.08 

.08 

e      • 

•      Eggs, 

at 

.30 

15      ♦ 

♦      Whole  Milk, 

at 

.08 

.45 

2      « 

♦      Macaroni, 

at 

.15 

.30 

1      ♦ 

*      Cheese, 

at 

.16 

.16 

10      ' 

♦      Potatoes, 

at 

.02>^ 

.25 

2      * 

•      Tomatoes, 

at 

.05 

.10 

9      • 

'      Turnips, 

at 

.03 

.06 

3      ♦ 

•      Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.15 

1      • 

*      Butter, 

at 

.28 

.28 

i^  5 

5 

$4.81 

38,420 

113    pounds,  total  for  30  days, 
3.7        "       "       "     1  day, 

Cost  per  week,  $1.63. 


$7.00 
.233 


138,199 
4,606.6 


THE  SCIEKCE  OF   IfUTRITION. 


183 


Dietary,  No 

.  10. 

CONSTANTS. 

CALORIBR. 

23  pound 

s  Flour, 

at 

$0.03;^ 

$0.55 

3      " 

Oatmeal, 

at 

.04 

.12 

3      " 

Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

6      " 

Hominy, 

at 

.04^ 

.37 

2      " 

Butter, 

at 

.38 

.56 

2      " 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.13 

10      " 

Potatoes, 

at 

.03>^ 

.35 

3      " 

Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

2       " 

Carrots, 

at 

.03>^ 

.05 

2      " 

Onions, 

at 

.05;^ 

.11 

2      " 

Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.10 

57 

VARIABLES. 

$3.31 

79,770 

3  pounds  Beef,  rump, 

at 

$0.33 

$0.66 

1      " 

Beef  liver, 

at 

.10 

.10 

2       «' 

Calves'  hearts, 

at 

.05 

.10 

4      " 

Mutton,  loin  or 

forequarter,  at 

.30 

.80 

2      " 

Tripe, 

at 

.10 

.30 

2      " 

Pork  Chops, 

at 

•  \^Yz 

.35 

1      « 

Salt  Pork, 

at 

.08 

.08 

2      « 

Eggs, 

at 

.18  doz. 

.37 

2      " 

Pease, 

at 

.07 

.14 

3      " 

Beans, 

at 

.07 

.14 

15      '♦ 

Whole  Milk, 

at 

.03 

.45 

6      " 

Fresh  Fish, 

at 

.13K 

.75 

1      " 

Rice, 

at 

.06 

.06 

1      " 

Tapioca, 

at 

.09 

.09 

%  " 

Farina, 

at 

.06 

.03 

1      '« 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.38 

3      " 

Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.15 

—    48;^ 

$4.55 

39,088 

105>i 

pounds,  total  for  80  days, 

$6.86 

118,858 

3.G 

;          (i            (t 

"     1  day, 

.228 

8,961.9 

Cost  per  week,  $1.60 

Dietary,  No 

.11. 

CONSTANTS. 

CALORIES. 

22  poundi 

3  Flour, 

at 

$0.02J^ 

$0.55 

3      " 

Oatmeal, 

at 

.04 

.13 

3      " 

Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

184 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   IfUTRITION". 


6  pounds  Hominy, 

at 

.0A% 

.27 

2      " 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.56 

2       " 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.12 

10       " 

Potatoes, 

at 

.02^A 

.25 

3      " 

Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

2       " 

Carrots, 

at 

.02K 

.05 

2      " 

Onions, 

at 

.05>^ 

.11 

2      " 
57 

Sugar, 

VARIABLES. 

at 

.05 

.10 
$2.31 

79,770 

2  pounds  Beef,  sirloin, 

• 

at 

10.25 

$0.50 

3      " 

Beef,  rump, 

at 

.18 

.54 

3      " 

Corned  Beef, 

at 

.12}4 

.38 

2      " 

Ham, 

at 

.12 

.24 

8      " 

Fowl, 

at 

.18 

.54 

2K  " 

Eggs, 

at 

.18  doz. 

.30 

30      " 

Whole  Milk, 

at 

.03 

.90 

2      " 

Salt  Cod, 

at 

.08 

.16 

3      " 

Cracked  Wheat, 

at 

.05 

.15 

2      " 

Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.06 

1      " 

Macaroni, 

at 

.15 

.15 

1       " 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.28 

3      " 
—  57.5 

Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.15 

$4.35 

43,480.5 

114.5 

pounds,  total  for  30  days, 

$6.66 

123,250.5 

3.8 

(<        (1        i( 

Iday, 

.222 

4,108.0 

Cost  per  week,  $1.55. 

DiBTARY,  No 

.  12. 

CONSTANTS. 

CALORIES. 

32  pounds  Flour, 

at 

$0.02K 

$0.55 

8      " 

Oatmeal, 

at 

.04 

.12 

3      " 

Cornmeal, 

at 

.03 

.09 

6      ♦• 

Hominy, 

at 

.04:}4 

.27 

2      " 

Butter, 

at 

.28 

.56 

2      " 

Suet, 

at 

.06 

.12 

10      " 

Potatoes, 

at 

.02X 

.25 

3      " 

Cabbages, 

at 

.03 

.09 

2      " 

Carrots, 

at 

.02;^ 

.05 

2      " 

Onions, 

at 

.05^ 

.11 

2      '« 

Sugar, 

at 

.05 

.10 

57 


$2.31        79,'?70 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 


185 


VARIABLES. 

6  pounds  Beef,  sirloin, 


4      ' 

'      Leg  Mutton, 

4      ' 

'      Lamb  or  Veal, 

6      ♦ 

'      Fresh  Fish, 

3      ' 

'      Eggs,  2)4  doz., 

2      ' 

'       Butter, 

15      * 

'       Whole  Milk, 

3       ' 

'       Beans, 

2       ' 

'      Pease, 

2       ' 

'       Rice, 

1       ' 

'      Tapioca, 

3       ' 

'      Farina, 

6       ' 

'       Sugar, 

113      pounds,  total  for  30  days, 
8.70      "          •«      «'     1  day. 

Cost  per  week,  $2.00. 


at 

10.25 

$1.50 

at 

.20 

.80 

at 

.15 

.60 

at 

.15 

.90 

at 

.24  doz. 

.54 

at 

.30 

.60 

at 

.08 

.45 

at 

.07 

.14 

at 

.07 

.14 

at 

.06 

.12 

at 

.09 

.09 

at 

.03 

.09 

at 

.05 

.30 

$6.27 

50,320 

$8.58 

130,090 

.286 

4,336.3 

This  Dietary  contains  a  customary  but  unwholesome  quantity  of  sugar. 


REOAPITULATIOK 


POUNDS  AND  TENTHS  PER  DAY. 


Dietary 


PROTEID. 

FAT. 

CARBOHYDRATES. 

CALORIES. 

COST. 

1, 

.277 

.309 

0.91 

3,467 

$0,136 

2. 

.311 

.250 

1.07 

3,656 

.138 

3, 

.279 

.809 

0.91 

3,544 

.133 

4, 

.248 

.276 

1.29 

3,955 

.126 

5, 

.371 

.250 

1.16 

4,027 

.194 

6, 

.807 

.811 

1.20 

3,817 

.192 

7, 

.337 

.313 

1.11 

4,069 

.187 

8, 

.330 

.243 

1.50 

4,439 

.200 

9, 

.311 

.294 

1.16 

3,940 

.233 

10, 

.323 

.278 

1.17 

3,962 

.228 

11. 

.328 

.291 

1.14 

4,108 

.222 

12, 

.319 

.324 

1.36 

4,336 

.286 

186 


THE  SCIENCE   OF  NUTEITION. 


COST  PER  WEEK. 

Omitting  fractions  of  a  cent. 


No.  1, 

10.95 

"  2, 

.97 

"  3, 

.93 

"  4, 

.88 

*♦  5, 

1.35 

"   6, 

1.28 

No. 


7,  $1.80 

8,  1.40 
1.63 
1.60 
1.56 
2.00 


9, 

10, 

11, 
12, 


Note.— Nearly  all  the  meat  included  in  these  dietaries,  consists  of  the  tougher  portions,  which  require  a  long 
time  for  their  suitable  preparation,  whether  subjected  to  a  roasting,  baking,  simmering  or  stewing  process. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  quantities  given  in  the  foregoing  tables  are  at  the 
weight  of  the  food-material  in  the  condition  in  which  it  is  bought  and  sold — the 
water  added  in  the  process  of  preparation  and  cooking  would  vary  with  each  com- 
bination. The  cost  of  salt,  spice  and  other  accessories  will  vary  with  the  taste  and 
condition  of  each  consumer.  These  computations  are  intended  to  cover  only  the 
necessary  elements  of  customary  nutrition. 

Note.— Copies  of  these  dietaries  have  been  sent  by  the  writer  to  members  of  the  International  Statistical 
Society  and  of  the  Hygienic  Association  in  Europe,  and  to  many  correspondents  in  this  country,  with  blank  cardfi 
to  be  filled  out  and  returned.  The  purpose  is  to  get  the  prices  of  the  same  or  corresponding  kinds  of  food  in 
different  places,  and  then  to  be  able  to  compute  the  relative  cost  of  complete  nutrition  in  this  and  other  countries. 

The  results  of  this  investigation  may  be  given  in  subsequent  editions  of  this  treatise.— E.  A. 


The  following  ration  is  computed  by  Prof.  A.  W.  Church  (Vide  Food,  South 
Kensington  Museum  Science  Handbook,  2d  Edition,  London,  Chapman  &  Hall, 
1889),  as  being  sufficient  for  an  adult  man  of  customary  height,  live  feet  eight 
inches,  weighing  154  pounds,  who  is  engaged  in  work  which  provides  sufficient 
exercise : 


1. 

Bread, 

18    ounces 

2. 

Butter, 

1 

8. 

Milk, 

4 

4. 

Bacon, 

a 

5. 

Potatoes, 

8 

6. 

Cabbage, 

6 

7. 

Cheese, 

3K 

8. 

Sugar, 

1 

9. 

Salt, 

H 

10. 

Water  alone,  or 

2  pounds  10^  ounces. 

in  tea,  coffee  or  beer. 

66X 

(( 

4       "         2X      <• 

Totals, 


12^ 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTBITION. 


187 


If  the  bread  be  made  at  home  in  the  Aladdin  Oven,  it  will  cost  two  and  one- 
half  cents  a  pound.  If  other  articles  are  purchased  at  Boston  prices  in  July,  1891, 
the  price  of  this  ration  will  be  as  follows  : 


1.  Bread, 

2.  Butter, 

3.  Milk, 

4.  Bacon, 

5.  Potatoes, 

6.  Cabbage, 

7.  Cheese, 

8.  Sugar, 

9.  Salt, 


18  ounces®    2^  cents  per  pound,  3.88 

1  "  @  32 
4  "  @    8 

2  •*  @  12 
8  *'  @    2}i 
6  "  @    2>^ 
B}^  "  @  16 
1  "  @    6 


say 


2  lbs.  101^  oz. 


u 

2.00 

quart, 

1.00 

pound, 

1.50 

ii 

1.25 

(( 

.95 

t( 

8.50 

(C 

.37 

.05 

Cents,      13.50 


If  the  bread  were  bought  at  London  prices,  where  home-made  bread  is  almost 
unknown,  but  where  bakers'  bread  is  much  cheaper  than  it  is  in  Boston,  the  cost  of 
this  ration,  which  is  without  meat  except  the  small  quantum  of  bacon,  would  come 
to  what  fifteen  cents  would  buy  here.  It  would  be  interesting  to  price  this  ration 
in  London  and  in  other  cities  of  Europe  and  also  in  other  cities  of  this  country. 

In  order  that  the  unlearned  may  know  what  the  chemistry  of  the  oven  and  of 
the  digestive  organs  do  with  this  material,  reference  may  be  made  to  Prof.  Church's 
most  interesting  and  scientific,  and,  at  the  same  time,  very  practical  treatise. 

The  subsequent  recipes  have  been  tested  in  a  cooking  pail  which  is  not  yet 
perfected  but  may  soon  be  made  for  sale.  The  same  results  may,  however,  be  at- 
tained by  placing  the  materials  in  porcelain  or  earthen  pots  or  jars  with  covers — 
placing  them  in  the  Aladdin  Oven  over  a  moderate  lamp  for  the  time  prescribed, 
or  if  the  cook  can  be  trusted  place  the  cooking  boxes  on  the  back  of  the  stove  in 
such  a  place  that  the  contents  cannot  be  subjected  to  a  high  heat. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  time  named  in  most  of  these  recipes  is  five  hours. 
According  to  my  own  experience  a  great  many  compounds  which  are  cooked  in  two 
or  three  hours  may  remain  in  the  oven  in  closed  vessels  for  five  hours  or  even  more 
without  the  least  injury. 

E.  A. 


188 


THE   SCIE]<rCE   OF   NUlRITIO^S:. 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  OOMPUTATIOK  OF  DIETAEY  No.  1, 

on  the  basis  of  which  the  comparisons  previously  given  vfere  made.  It  is  one  of 
a  series  of  twelve  dietaries  of  varying  cost  which  are  given  in  the  test  of  ''The 
Science  of  Nutrition." 


Constants  which  enter  into  the  Subsequent  Dietaries,  Nos.  1  to  13  inclusive. 


ARTICLE.                POUNDS. 

PBOTEID. 

PAT. 

CARBO-HTDBATE. 

CALORIES. 

COST   AT   BOSTON 
PRICES  1891. 

Flour, 

22 

2.64 

.44 

15.18 

36,520 

$0.55 

Grain, 

12 

1.68 

.84 

7.60 

19,800 

.48 

Butter, 

3 

.03 

1.73 

7,380 

.56 

Suet, 

3 

1.78 

7,300 

.12 

Sugar, 

2 

1.93 

3,600 

.10 

Potatoes, 

10 

.20 

2.10 

4,300 

.25 

Beets, 

Carrots,' 

Onions, 
Squash, 

■    7 

.13 

.03 

.50 

1,130 

.25 

Cabbage, 

Parsnips,     . 

For  30  days, 

57 

4.67 

4.83 

37.81 

79,770 

$2.31 

For  1  day. 

1.90 

.155 

.160 

.910 

2,659 

.077 

Variables  in  Table  No.  1,  showing  Method  of  Analysis  applied  to  each  Table. 

Beef,  neck 

or  shin,     13  ('"^'afti"«^)  3.00 
Mutton,  neck,   5 

Bacon,  4 

Beef  liver,  3 

Veal,  1 

Salt  pork,  1 

For  30  days,    35 


3.00 

.40 

5,300 

.72 

.63 

.34 

3,476 

.30 

.40 

3.80 

11,840 

.48 

.40 

.10 

1,130 

.12 

.19 

.03 

460 

.08 

.03 

.78 

3,160 

.08 

8.64 

4.45 

34,356 

1.78 

8.31 

9.37 

37.31 

10i,036 

04.09 

.377 

.309 

.910 

8,467.05 

.136 

Total,  82 

For  1  day,    3.73 

The  prices  on  which  these  computations  are  made  were  the  retail  prices  in 
Boston,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A.,  in  the  first  six  months  of  the  year  1891. 


COMPARATIVE    NUTRITION. 


While  this  book  upon  "^The  Science  of  Nutrition"'  was  going  through  the 
press,  a  beginning  has  been  made  in  treating  the  subject  of  comparative  nutrition. 

When  the  twelve  dietaries  which  have  been  given  in  the  previous  treatise  had 
been  prepared,  it  seemed  probable  that  some  use  might  be  made  of  them  in  deter- 
mining the  relative  cost  of  nutrition  at  the  American  standard  in  different  states  and 
countries.  I  could  not  of  course  expect  to  make  anything  but  a  crude  beginning 
in  this  matter,  because  the  habit  of  nutrition,  if  one  may  use  this  expression,  varies 
greatly  according  to  soil,  climate,  conditions  and  wages.  ' 

In  countries  where  meat  is  scarce,  the  chief  source  of  nitrogen  is  found  in  a 
large  relative  consumption  of  cheese  or  of  beans  or  other  legumes.  How,  for  the 
price  of  a  suitable  day's  ration  may  be  equalized  by  the  purchase  of  cheese  or  legumes 
in  place  of  meat,  remains  to  be  dealt  with.  For  the  moment  a  few  comparisons  may 
be  interesting. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  twelve  dietaries  given,  the  Constants  consisting 
of  grain,  vegetables  and  a  modicum  of  butter  or  fat  are  uniform;  they  are  computed 
in  sufficient  quantities  to  support  life  and  are  named 

THE    LIFE    BATION. 

The  Variables,  consisting  mainly  of  meat,  are  given  of  different  quantities,  at 
different  prices,  and  are  named 

THE    WORK    RATION". 

All  prices  are  given  at  retail  for  small  quantities,  except  flour,  which  is  assumed 
to  be  purchased  by  the  sack  or  barrel. 

Eationa  corresponding  to  Dietaries  Nos.  1  to  4,  have  been  computed  in  various 
places,  with  the  following  results: 

Cost  of  57  lbs.  grain,  vegetables  and  fat  and  25  lbs.  of  the  cheap  cuts  of  meat, 
82  pounds  in  all;  sufficient  for  rations  for  30  days,  at  3467  Calories  per  day,  the 
standard  of  a  German  soldier  on  a  war  footing  being  3093  Calories. 


190 


THE   SCIEIfCE   OF   NUTKITION. 


Date. 

Life  Ration.    Work  Ration 

Total. 

1891. 

30  days. 

30  days. 

30  days 

April  ^ 

Boston,  Mass.,  TJ.  S.  A.    (short  crop  of 

vegetables,  1890),      . 

. 

$2.31 

$1.78 

$4.09 

November. 

Boston,    Mass.,    U.   S.    A. 

(vegetables 

abundant), 

. 

2.08 

1.77 

3.85 

December. 

Bismarck,  N.  Dakota,  U.  S.  A., 

1.43 

2.42 

3.85 

September. 

Paris,  France^ 

2.00 

2.81 

4.81 

September. 

London,  England  (in  workman's  section), 

2.16 

2.52 

4.68 

November. 

London,  England  (in  "West  End  shops). 

2.42 

3.60 

6.02 

October. 

Madison,  "Wisconsin,  U.  S.  A. 

)  • 

1.70 

1.77 

3.47 

September. 

Beyreuth  and  Nuremburg,  Germany, 

2.52 

3.76 

6.29 

October. 

Topeka,  Kansas,  U.  S.  A., 

. 

1.54 

1.53 

3.07 

December. 

New  Orleans,  La.,  U.  S.  A., 

.        .        . 

2.40 

1.92 

4.32 

October. 

Lincoln,  Nebraska,  U.  S.  A., 

.        .        . 

1.38 

1.78 

3.16 

October. 

Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  U,  S.  A., 

1.87 

1.86 

3.73 

1892. 

February. 

Hrussels,  Belgium,  . 

. 

2.53 

3.93 

6.46 

January. 

Dresden,  Germany, 

. 

3.14 

3.30 

6.44 

March. 

Munich,  Bavaria, 

. 

3.30 

3.63 

6.93 

LiPB  Ration, 

Work  Ration, 

Total 

Cbnts  peb  Dat 

Cents  per 

Dat.       Cents  per  Day 

Boston,  Mass.,             .... 

7.70 

5.93 

13.63 

Boston,  Mass.,              .... 

6.93 

5.90 

12.83 

Bismarck,  15 

.  Dakota, 

4.77 

8.07 

12.84 

Paris,  France,              

6.66 

9.37 

16.03 

London,  England, 

7.20 

8.40 

15.60 

London,  England, 

8.06 

12.00 

20.06 

Madison,  Wis.,             .... 

5.66 

5.90 

11.56 

Beyreuth  and  Nuremburg,  Germany, 

8.40 

12.53 

20.93 

Topeka,  Kansas,           .... 

5.13 

5.10 

10.33 

New  Orleans 

,  La.,        .... 

8.00 

6.40 

14.40 

Lincoln,  Neb.,              .... 

4.60 

5.93 

10.53 

Ann  Arbor, 

Mich 

6.23 

6.20 

12.43 

Brussels,  Belgium,       .... 

8.43 

13.10 

21.53 

Dresden,  Germany, 

10.05 

11.00 

21.05 

Munich,  Bavaria, 

11.00 

12.10 

23.10 

The  two  returns  from  Dresden  and  Munich  show  the  effect  of  the  short  crop  of  grain 
in  1891  upon  prices. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF    NUTEITION.  '  191 

I  can  of  course  claim  only  approximate  accuracy  for  these  comparisons.  The 
personal  equation  will  have  a  varying  influence  in  obtaining  prices.  The  habits 
of  the  people  must  be  taken  into  view.  In  Boston,  for  instance,  the  tougher  and 
coarser  parts  of  beeves  are  sold  for  food;  in  Bismarck,  North  Dakota,  they  are 
probably  put  into  the  fat-rendering  vats,  not  even  being  prepared  for  sale. 

I  have  also  been  disappointed  in  the  small  number  of  returns  received  in  reply 
to  my  circular,  but  yet  hope  to  extend  this  inquiry,  as  there  are  now  several  associa- 
tions in  this  country  and  in  Europe  which  have  taken  up  this  matter  in  different  ways. 

Suffice  it  that  even  this  beginning  is  very  suggestive.  It  proves  that  where  the 
nitrogenous  element  in  food  is  abundant  and  cheap,  labor  is  effective  and  wages  are 
high.  Where  the  nitrogenous  element  is  scarce  and  dear,  labor  is  not  effective  and 
wages  are  low. 

Which  is  the  antecedent  and  which  is  the  consequent  ? 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  is  a  much  greater  uniformity  in  the  price  of  the 
Life  Ration  than  of  the  Work  Eation.  May  not  this  indicate  a  deficiency  of  nitrogen 
as  the  cause  of  low  rates  of  wages? 

Again,  if  one  may  venture  upon  a  somewhat  visionary  hypothesis,  another  com- 
parison may  be  made  and  another  question  may  be  asked. 

Where  the  burden  of  Armies  and  Navies  is  heavy — nitrogenous  food  is  scarce 
among  the  people — the  army  must  be  sustained  even  if  the  poor  workmen  starve. 
Witness  Eussia  at  the  present  time.     Why  must  armies  be  sustained? 

The  army  and  the  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  number  only  about  30,000 
men  and  are  all  that  we  require.  At  the  ratio  to  population  of  European  armies 
and  navies,  making  comparison  only  with  the  force  in  camp  or  barracks  and  paying 
no  regard  to  reserves,  our  army  and  naval  forces  would  number  from  600,000  to 
800,000  men;  and  since  it  takes  the  product  of  at  least  one  man  to  support  one 
worse  than  idle  soldier,  such  a  burden  would  be  equivalent  to  setting  apart  ten  per 
cent,  or  more  of  all  the  men  of  arms-bearing  age  from  the  productive  and  con- 
structive work  in  which  they  are  now  occupied,  to  waste  the  most  valuable  and 
effective  portion  of  their  lives  in  the  destructive  work  of  preparation  for  war. 

The  mere  money  cost  of  this  system  of  militarism  which  is  eating  away  the 
vital  force  of  most  of  the  European  States  is  about  $1,000,000,000  a  year.  I  am 
aware  that  army  drill  and  discipline  is  justified  as  a  mode  of  education.  What  does 
it  cost?  In  Germany  women  do  the  scavenger  work — sweep  the  streets — mix  the 
mortar  for  the  builders  and  perform  the  hardest  work  of  the  field,  while  the 
men,  at  the  most  productive  period  of  efficiency,  are  obtaining  the  education 
thus  claimed  to  be  justified.  France  is  a  little  better  off,  but  many  parts  of  Italy 
are  worse. 


192  THE   SCIEN"CE    OF   NUTKITIOK. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  Science  of  Nutrition  is  not  confined  to  the  domestic 
kitchen  or  to  the  recipe  book. 

As  the  supply  of  food  comes  to  half  the  cost  of  life  or  more,  in  many  parts  of 
this  prosperous  country,  so  the  barbaric  folly  may  be  conceived  of  taxing  the  masses 
for  the  support  of  the  classes  by  whom  the  military  system  is  sustained  and  the 
military  caste  is  supported  in  Europe. 

In  a  recent  prominent  English  review  there  appeared  an  article  upon  "  The 
causes  and  effects  of  cruelty  in  conscript  armies/''  which  is  significant,  perhaps  pro- 
/phetic.  When  conscript  soldiers  who  are  kept  under  drill  by  cruelty  are  ordered  to 
fire  upon  their  own  hungry  brethren  who  are  yet  more  oppressed,  the  guns  may  be 
turned  upon  the  oppressors.  It  is  claimed  that  European  countries  are  prospering, 
but  the  national  debts  for  war  purposes  are  constantly  increasing,  and  there  is  an 
increasing  dependence  upon  other  continents  for  the  supply  of  food.  These  are  bad 
signs,  the  classes  may  prosper  more  but  how  is  it  with  the  masses? 

The  foregoing  statements  of  the  relative  cost  of  nutrition  must  indicate  that  the 
proportionate  cost  of  food  to  other  elements  in  the  cost  of  living  is  less  in  the  west- 
ern states  and  cities  than  in  the  East  or  in  Europe.  In  fact,  the  relation  of  food 
supply  to  the  rate  of  earnings  is  even  a  more  important  factor  than  now  appears. 
One  can  even  predicate  a  rule  on  what  is  now  known.  It  may  be  put  in  this  form: 
To  him  that  hath  food  in  abundance  shall  be  given  the  power  to  gain  more;  from 
him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken  even  that  which  he  hath. 

These  considerations  bring  into  view  the  importance  of  the  problem  of  securing 
a  supply  of  nitrogen  at  less  cost.  Our  Agricultural  Chemists  and  Physiologists  tell 
us  that  nitrogen  is  the  most  important,  and  at  the  same  time  the  least  abundant  and 
most  costly  element  in  the  nutrition  of  the  plant,  the  beast  and  the  man.  The 
atmosphere  is  four-fifths  nitrogen  and  we  can't  yet  catch  it:  the  iron  smelting  fur- 
naces of  this  country  are  giving  off  ammonia  enough  to  supply  nitrogen  to  our  fields, 
in  large  measure  and  we  waste  it.  We  have  begun  to  save  the  phosphatic  slag  of  the 
furnaces  for  use  as  a  fertilizer,  and  thus  to  convert  iron  ore  into  corn  and  wheat — 
the  next  man  will  save  the  ammonia.  In  the  meantime.  Prof.  Atwater  and  his  associ- 
ates are  summoning  the  myriads  of  bacteria  and  microbes  to  our  aid,  who,  living  in 
their  little  dwelling  places  attached  to  the  roots  of  clover,  cow  pea  vines  and 
other  renovating  plants,  draw  nitrogen  from  the  air  supplying  the  plant  which, 
when  turned  under,  renovates  the  soil. 

In  winding  up  this  somewhat  desultory  series  of  treatises  in  Avhich  all  the  science 
has  been  contributed  by  my  friends,  I  am  reminded  of  my  investigations  in  other 
lines  and  directions  which  have  been  previously  published.  I  have  been  led  by  all 
my  work  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  Production  wliich  is  Unlimited;  Consumption 


THE   SCIEKCE   OE   NUTRITION".  ,  193 

which  is  Limited.     (See  Introduction  to  the  Industrial  Progress  of  the  Nation. 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.) 

The  hypotheses  of  Malthus  in  respect  to  population  and  of  Eicardo  and  others 
in  regard  to  diminishing  returns  from  land,  have  as  yet  no  apparent  foundation  ii> 
science  or  experience,  and  may  be  wholly  discarded. 

The  present  need  in  this  country  is  not  so  much  of  instruction  how  to  earn  but 
how  to  spend  an  income,  especially  a  small  one.  If  the  energy  which  corresponds 
to  the  present  waste  of  food  material  could  be  spent  for  more  adequate  shelter,  the 
evils  of  the  slums  would  be  abated  and  the  bad  tenements  in  the  slums  would  be 
renovated.  One  may  be  warranted  in  estimating  the  present  waste  of  food  and  fuel 
at  five  cents  a  day  for  each  person,  which  is  approximately  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
expenditure.  To  this  we  may  add  two  cents  a  day,  or  less  than  half  what  is  annu- 
ally spent  for  liquors  and  tobacco — say  seven  cents  a  day  in  all.  There  are  about 
65,000,000  of  us  now,  divided  into  13,000,000  average  families  of  five  each. 

At  seven  cents  a  day  the  measure  of  our  waste  of  energy  in  converting  good  food 
into  bad  feeding,  and  upon  liquor  and  tobacco  at  less  than  half  their  cost,  amounts 
in  each  year  to  11,660,750,000.  If  this  waste  of  misdirected  energy  were  converted 
into  better  methods  of  providing  shelter,  it  would  enable  each  family  of  five  persons 
to  spend  $127^^^  a  year  more  for  their  dwelling  places  than  they  do  now. 

Suppose  the  waste  only  four  cents  a  day,  two  cents  on  food  and  two  on  liquor 
and  tobacco,  even  that  comes  to  nearly  $1,000,000,000 — worth  of  misdirected 
energy — and  the  waste  is  greatest  among  those  who  can  spare  it  least.  The  Imagi- 
nation is  the  most  potent  force  or  factor  in  Religion,  in  Education,  in  Business 
and  also  in  Economic  Science  and  Statistics:  its  place  in  Literature  is  acknowledged. 

How  far  I  have  succeeded  in  bringing  Imagination,  as  well  as  a  little  Fancy  into 
a  Cookery  Book,  I  must  now  leave  to  my  readers  to  determine. 

How  much  of  this  book  may  be  attributed  to  a  true  Imagination,  forecasting 
the  near  future  when  a  good  subsistence,  comfortable  shelter  and  adequate  clothing 
will  be  so  well  assured  to  him  or  her  who  possesses  health,  aptitude  and  intelligence 
that  it  won't  pay  to  be  rich,  and  how  much  of  it  is  mere  fancy,  the  writer  himself 
may  not  be  able  to  tell.  Suffice  it  that  the  following  statements  are  of  fact,  and 
not  of  fancy  or  imagination. 

Any  intelligent  boy  can  be  taught  in  one  lesson  of  one  hour  how  to  get  up  a 
five-course  dinner  for  ten  persons,  consisting  of  Soup,  Fish,  Roast,  Entree,  Vegeta- 
bles and  Pudding.     I  state  this  because  I  have  done  it. 

Any  intelligent  girl  can  be  taught  to  make  and  bake  the  best  of  bread  by  the 
use  of  the  implements  named  in  this  treatise,  without  touching  flour  or  dough  with 
her  hands.     I  state  this  because  I  have  done  it. 


194  THE   SCIEKCE    OF   JSTUTRITION. 

The  fuel  oil  required  for  the  cooking  for  a  family  of  ten  persons  for  one  hundred 
days  at  the  seaside  in  summer,  can  be  bought  at  retail  at  less  than  one  cent  a  day  for 
each  person.     I  state  this  because  I  have  practiced  it. 

Any  five  intelligent  women  who  can  combine  to  live  together  in  Boston  in  com- 
fortable rooms  in  the  new  part  of  the  city,  can  hire  such  rooms  heated,  with  the 
service  of  a  Janitor  added,  at  leSy^oPo-  per  year  each;  they  can  purchase  an  adequate 
and  comfortable  supply  of  clothing  at  $62t§A-  each;  they  can  purchase  the  food  and 
fuel  necessary  to  complete  nutrition,  with  tea  and  coffee  added,  for  ^62^-^  each,  and 
within  the  limit  of  an  income  of  1250  each  one  can  apply  ^62^^  to  sundries.  J 
make  this  statement  because  I  have  personally  verified  every  point. 

I  may  not  recommend  this  plan  because  those  who  possess  the  intelligence  which 
would  enable  them  to  live  in  this  way  cannot  perhaps  afford  to  spend  the  time  which 
would  be  necessary  to  such  a  plan,  but  will  be  able  to  earn  more  bo  as  to  spend  more. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  great  many  of  those  who  live  dirty  and  ill-nourished  lives 
in  the  slums  could  live  comfortably  and  well  upon  their  incomes,  which  in  very 
many  cases  are  ample,  if  they  could  only  be  taught  how  to  spend  them.  My  obser- 
vations are  limited  mainly  to  the  conditions  of  towns  and  cities.  How  far  they  can 
be  applied  in  the  rural  districts  and  in  strictly  agricultural  communities,  I  am 
unable  to  say. 

In  College  Cities  or  towns  in  which  the  Corporation  of  the  College  supplies  the 
land  without  rent.  College  Buildings  can  be  constructed  in  suites  of  ten  rooms, 
eight  for  dormitory  and  study,  two  for  kitchen  and  dining-room, — as  safe,  as  strong, 
as  slow  burning,  as  well  lighted,  as  well  heated  and  as  well  ventilated  as  the  modern 
cotton  factory  is,  which  must  possess  all  these  attributes  in  order  that  the  cotton 
may  be  spun,  at  a  cost  of  not  exceeding  $800  per  student — probably  less.  On  this 
sum  a  rent  of  $62yW  per  student  would  pay  five  per  cent,  interest,  insurance, 
repairs  and  depreciation.  I  state  this  because  I  have  made  plans  corresponding  to 
the  factories  about  which  I  know  all  the  facts  and  have  had  estimates  made  upon 
them  by  competent  mill  constructors.         _ 

I  have  said  that  the  education  most  needed  now  is  how  to  spend,  more  than  how 
to  earn.  I  find  as  much  evidence  of  this  in  the  present  expenditures  upon  Hospitals, 
College  Buildings  and  Schoolhouses  as  I  do  in  the  conversion  of  good  food  into 
bad  feeding.  In  the  ordinary  practice  of  combustible  architecture,  of  which  this 
class  of  buildings  are  apt  to  be  typical  examples,  I  find  hospitals  in  which  the 
inmates  are  exposed  to  cremation  before  they  are  dead,  covered  in  with  crazy  roofs 
which  do  not  keep  out  the  weather;  College  Buildings  which  give  the  minimum  of 
space  and  comfort  at  the  maximum  of  cost,  in  which  poor  students  can  only  be 
admitted  by  accepting  charity;   and  finally  Schoolhouses  in  which  about  two  in 


THE   SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION.  195 

three  are  bad  types  of  separate  invention  on  different  plans,  each  more  or  less 
unsuitable  to  its  purpose  and  costing  from  fifty  to  five  hundred  per  cent,  more  than 
the  sum  for  which  a  true  typical  schoolhouse  can  be  constructed  if  the  motive  of 
the  work  be  light,  air  and  ventilation  rather  than  outside  appearances. 

A  typical  schoolhouse  can  be  planned  and  specified  in  interchangeable  parts,  so 
that  orders  could  be  given  for  four,  six,  eight  and  ten-room  buildings  of  good 
exterior  design  and  exactly  adapted  to  their  purpose  within,  with  the  same  absolute 
assurance  of  minimum  cost  that  has  been  secured  in  the  construction  of  the  textile 
factory,  the  paper  mill  and  the  machine  shop  of  New  England. 

In  the  light  basement  of  this  schoolhouse  nearly  or  wholly  above  ground,  as  a 
schoolhouse  ought  never  to  have  a  cellar  under  it,  provision  may  be  made  for  the 
service  of  the  building,  for  manual  instruction  and  for  a  Cooking  Laboratory,  in 
which  instruction  may  be  given  in  the  simple  principles  of  the  Science  of  Nutrition 
and  in  the  Art  of  Applying  Heat  under  due  control  and  regulation  to  the  conver- 
sion of  food  material  into  nutritious  food.  This  can  be  done  without  incumbering 
the  premises  with  costly  stoves  or  ranges,  but  by  making  very  simple  provision  for 
cookiug  the  food  whatever  it  may  be,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  enable  the  boy  or  girl 
to  carry  back  to  the  household  such  an  example  of  the  right  method  as  to  make 
the  common  practice  distasteful.  If  the  true  kind  of  cooking  apparatus,  such  as 
is  used  in  the  New  England  Kitchen,  were  set  up,  any  kind  of  food  could  be  dealt 
with,  and  in  this  way  right  methods  might  soon  be  brought  into  common  practice. 

With  these  dogmatic  statements,  which  are  neither  the  product  of  fancy  or 
imagination,  I  will  rest  my  case. 

EDWAED  ATKINSON. 
Boston,  March  1,  1892. 


THE  WHOLESALE  PREPARATION  OF  FOOD. 


So  much  has  been  done  within  a  few  years  in  the  way  of  canning  food  that  it 
would  seem  superfluous  to  consider  any  other  method  of  preparation  in  the  large 
way,  but  certain  disadvantages  inhere  in  these  methods  which  render  the  question 
still  an  open  one. 

I.  At  present,  canned  food  has  been  subjected,  in  order  to  kill  all  the  agents  of 
decomposition  (the  microscopic  plants  and  their  spores)  to  a  temperature  far  too 
high  or  for  too  long  a  time,  if  the  best  flavor  of  the  food  is  to  be  retained.  Hence 
one  tires  of  canned  food. 

II.  The  contact  with  metal  injures  the  flavor  of  some  things;  glass  may  be 
too  expensive. 

III.  The  presence  of  solder  in  the  can  is  a  source  of  danger. 

IV.  The  can  once  opened,  the  contents  should  be  eaten  at  once,  since  such  food 
is  more  liable  to  decay  than  that  which  is  fresh. 

V.  The  above  requirements  place  most  canned  goods  beyond  the  reach  of  per- 
sons of  small  means,  and  small  packages  have  all  the  above  mentioned  evils  inten- 
sified, beside  the  inevitable  waste  of  material  clinging  to  the  dish. 

In  every  city  and  town  there  is  a  mass  of  good  food  material  practically  going 
to  waste  because  it  costs  too  much  time  or  too  much  knowledge  to  make  it  into 
wholesome  or  palatable  dishes.  To  utilize  it,  some  central  station  or  kitchen  should 
be  established  in  which  it  can  be  prepared  on  well-proved  principles  and  distributed 
by  sale — daily,  as  bread,  meat  and  milk  are  distributed. 

In  several  foreign  countries,  notably  Germ nrv^,  "Peoples'  Kitchens "( Fo?^es- 
kueche)  have  been  established.  In  1890  there  were  fourteen  Volkeskueche  in  Berlin, 
in  which  were  served  2,187,804  meals  at  noon,  an  average  of  6,000  per  day  for  365 
days,  or  428  in  each  kitchen.  Eighty  per  cent,  of  the  meals  cost  6J  cents  each  and 
14  per  cent,  cost  1;^  cents;  the  remaining  6  per  cent,  cost  3|  cents  each.  The 
cost  of  running  each  kitchen  was  about  $6,500  a  year,  but  the  oversight  is  done  by 
volunteers. 

The  6  J  cents  portion  contains  the  proper  nutrition  in  the  right  proportions,  and 
consists  of  a  pint  and  a  half  of  soup  and  three  pieces  of  meat  or  fish  weghing  6^ 
ounces. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF  NUTRITION.  197 

The  dishes  prepared  are  chiefly  beans,  pease  and  cabbage,  with  meats  of  differ- 
ent kinds. 

The  aim  and  results  of  these  establishments  are  ably  set  forth  in  the  account  of 
the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  starting  of  those  in  Berlin,  just  published.  The 
following  extracts  are  taken  from  Erau  Morgenstern's  paper: 

"  The  greatest  task  before  the  civilized  world  of  our  time  is  the  solution  of  the 
social  question.  The  secret  lies  in  the  equalization  of  the  different  conditions  of 
life  by  every  possible  elevation  of  the  destitute  and  poorer  classes,  especially  that  of 
the  day  laborer.  Advancing  their  material  well-being  improves  the  possibilities  of 
their  social  and  spiritual  development. 

"  Before  one  can  attempt  to  develop  higher  ideals  for  the  advancement  and 
happiness  of  the  people,  the  food  problem  must  be  solved,  then  that  of  shelter. 
Only  when  the  animal  is  satisfied  can  the  spiritual  man  be  reached.  The  hungry, 
the  homeless  man  is  unhappier  among  his  fellow-beings  than  the  wild  animal  of  the 
woods  who  finds  his  home  and  food  anywhere.  Is  it  not  a  natural  consequence  when 
the  hungry  and  the  homeless  become  like  wild  animals,  break  through  the  laws  of 
society  and  possess  themselves  through  crime  of  what  they  want? 

''Jacob  Moleschott,  the  famous  physiologist,  in  speaking  of  the  moral  effect  of 
'  enough  to  eat '  says  *  Courage,  good-will,  and  love  of  work  depend  in  the  highest 
degree  on  healthful,  sufficient  food — hunger  lays  waste  the  head  and  the  heart.' 

"  For  the  working  man  only  the  best  and  most  concentrated  food  is  good  enough.'' 

But,  as  in  many  other  things,  while  we  may  learn  much  from  other  lands,  we 
should  modify  and  adapt  to  suit  our  American  conditions  and  to  suit  the  spirit  of 
our  people  and  ways.  Home  and  family  life  are  our  strongholds,  the  cafe  living  of 
Paris  and  the  Volheshueche  of  Berlin  are  alike  foreign  to  our  best  ideas.  We  have  even 
-  clung  to  the  home  manufacture  of  bread  as  no  other  nation  on  earth  has  done.  We 
are  slow  to  adopt  any  principle  of  cooperative  living.  The  free  American  likes  to 
be  free  in  his  selection  of  food,  and  preserves  his  individuality  at  the  expense  of  his 
stomach  as  well  as  of  his  purse.  This  is  the  real  reason  why  cooperative  kitchens 
have  hitherto  failed;  no  two  families  like  the  same  food  or  the  same  flavors.  The 
problem,  then,  with  us  is  a  somewhat  difficult  one.  The  food  must  go  to  the  families 
and  not  the  people  to  the  food,  and  only  such  dishes  must  be  attempted  as  can  have 
a  somewhat  cosmopolitan  flavor,  and  such  as  can  be  easily  prepared  and  will  not 
suffer  by  being  kept  two  or  three  hours,  or  will  bear  reheating. 

The  attempt  to  test  the  feasibility  of  such  wholesale  preparation  of  food  was 
made  in  Boston,  beginning  in  January,  1890,  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Hinman  Abel,  and  was  made  possible  only  by  the  generous  financial  support  of  Mrs. 
Quincy  A.  Shaw,  to  whom  the  scientific  side  of  the  question,  as  well  as  the  far-. 


198  THE    SCIENCE    OP    NUTRITION. 

reaching  philanthropy,  appealed  most  strongly.  "The  Story  of  the  Kitchen  "  has  been 
most  ably  and  entertainingly  told  by  Mrs.  Abel  in  her  reports  to  Mrs.  Shaw.  Under  the 
skilful  management  of  Miss  S.  E.  Wentworth,  the  work  has  been  constantly  enlarging  and 
running  in  new  channels. 

Of  the  yarious  branches  which  have  been  started,  some  have  failed  because  of  loca- 
tion and  insufficient  patronage ;  not,  however,  without  each  teaching  its  own  lesson  in  this 
study  of  the  food  problem.  The  kitchen  in  New  York,  341  Hudson  Street,  was  fortunate 
in-having  Mr.  Theodore  A.  Havemeyer  as  its  financial  sponsor,  and  Dr.  Thomas  Egleston, 
the  eminent  professor  of  metallurgy  at  the  Columbia  School  of  Mines,  as  its  director.  This 
is  the  model  kitchen  as  yet,  being  fitted  up  after  experience  in  three  others,  and  it  is  at 
present  the  Mecca  of  all  those  who  desire  to  study  such  plants. 

The  kitchen  at  Hull  House,  the  Chicago  Settlement  of  Chicago  at  335  South  Halsted 
Street,  combines  the  American  idea  with  the  foreign  practice,  and  not  only  sells  soup  by 
the  quart  to  take  away,  but  has  an  attractive  restaurant  in  connection  with  it.  This  bids 
fair  to  be  the  most  successful  plan. 

An  exhibition  was  made  of  portions  of  the  work  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion at  Chicago,  under  the  able  management  of  Miss  Maria  Daniell.  It  was  called  the 
Rumford  Kitchen,  and  in  a  measure  celebrated  the  100th  anniversary  of  Count  Rumford's 
work  in  Bavaria  and  Italy,  which  was  the  birth  of  the  Science  of  Nutrition,  as  he  him- 
self called  it. 

The  scientific  aspect  of  the  question  of  nutrition  has  been  studied  in  connection  with 
the  daily  work  of  the  kitchen,  for  it  is  in  such  connection  that  the  full  value  and  signifi- 
cance of  the  results  of  scientific  research  can  be  best  appreciated.  For  this  research,  a 
grant  was  received  from  the  Elizabeth  Thompson  Science  Fund,  and  also  generous  aid 
from  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie,  his  partner  Mr.  Henry  Phipps,  Jr.,  and  from  Mr.  Henry  L. 
Pierce  and  others. 

Much  of  the  scientific  thought  embodied  in  this  treatise,  imperfect  though  it  is,  is  the 
direct  outcome  of  this  work.     Much  material  is  still  in  hand. 

In  no  way  can  money  be  better  made  to  serve  the  people  than  by  securing  to  them 
good  food  and  by  teaching  them  to  like  it,  so  that  they  will  be  willing  to  learn  to  prepare  it. 

E.  H.  R. 

In  using  the  Aladdin  Oven  for  cooking  on  a  large  scale,  cookers  are  made  of  tin-lined 
copper  or  of  stout  tin  without  solder  on  the  inside,  or  of  Russia  iron,  which  fill  the  whole 
inside  space.  They  have  handles  which  fold  down,  and  tight  covers.  Those  for  the 
Standard  Oven  hold  about  thirty  quarts.  The  contents  of  this  size  are  cooked  by  a  single 
lamp,  which  burns  one  quart  of  oil  in  eight  or  nine  hours. 


the  science  of  nutrition.  199 

Beef  Broth. 

This  is  made  from  the  most  nutritious  parts,  neck  and  shin,  trimmed,  skinned  and 
wiped  so  that  no  particle  is  left  which  can  give  an  unpleasant  flavor.  The  meat  is  cut 
from  the  bone  in  strips,  and  the  bone  cracked.  Twenty  pounds  of  meat  and  twenty  pounds 
of  bone  are  packed  in  the  cooker,  fifteen  quarts  of  cold  water  added,  and  the  whole  placed 
in  the  cold  Aladdin  Oven.  At  four  o'clock  the  lamp  is  lighted  and  the  work  of  extraction 
of  the  juices  begins.  At  the  end  of  four  and  one-half  hours  the  temperature  of  the  water 
is  only  160°  F. ;  in  seven  and  one-half  hours  it  is  200°  F. ;  in  nine  hours  it  reaches 
212°  F.,  for  a  short  time  just  as  the  lamp  goes  out. 

When  the  kitchen  is  closed  for  the  night,  about  half-past  six  o'clock,  a  freshly  filled 
lamp,  containing  one  quart  of  oil,  replaces  the  one  which  has  been  burning  since  four 
o'clock.  This  lamp  goes  out  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  the  broth  is  still 
about  180°  F.  at  six  o'clock,  when  it  is  strained  through  a  colander,  made  up  to  twenty- 
five  quarts  with  boiling  water  which  is  used  to  rinse  the  bones,  and  set  away  to  cool  in 
order  that  the  fat  may  be  completely  removed.  This  cooling  must  take  place  quickly 
after  the  fat  has  risen  to  the  top  —  best  in  a  stream  of  cold  water.  When  properly  cooled 
and  kept  cold,  there  will  be  no  change  under  a  week,  but  it  is  sold  for  invalid  broth  only 
on  the  day  it  is  prepared. 

The  broth  should  be  a  decided  jelly  when  cold,  and  should  contain  four  and  one-half 
per  cent,  of  solid  matters,  and  should  equal  milk  in  nitrogenous  value. 

This  standard  beef  broth  or  stock  is  not  only  the  invalid  broth,  but  is  also  the  basis 
of  other  soups  which  may  be  varied  to  suit  the  tastes  of  the  customers ;  only  it  is  never 
clarified  or  robbed  of  the  precious  flakes  of  albumen. 

Tomato  Soup. 

The  tomato  soup  which  has  proved  so  popular  is  made  as  follows : 

Eight  quarts  canned  tomatoes,  first  quality,  six  quarts  water,  eight  bay  leaves,  thirty-two 
grains  allspice,  twenty  four  cloves,  thirty-two  pepper-corns.  All  brought  to  the  boiling  point  and 
boiled  twenty  minutes  and  strained.  There  is  added :  Eight  quarts  of  stock,  three  ounces  sugar, 
three  ounces  salt,  one  teaspoonful  white  pepper,  one  teaspoonful  soda.  While  this  is  heating  stir 
thirty  ounces  of  flour  into  two  and  one-half  quarts  water,  heat  to  boiling,  add  three  ounces  clarified 
drippings,  and  stir  into  the  hot  soup.     This  should  measure  twenty -four  quarts. 

Vegetable  Soup. 

To  make  twenty-four  quarts  use  :  Twelve  quarts  stock,  six  quarts  water,  nine  quarts  cooked 
vegetables,  and  barley  according  to  the  season.  These  can  be  so  varied  as  to  make  a  dozen  dif- 
ferent kinds. 


200 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 


Beef  Stew. 

Several  kinds  may  be  made  after  the  general  plan.  The  following  rule  (for  twenty 
quarts),  modified  from  the  Pennsylvania  Pepper  Pot,  has  proved  most  popular,  being 
exceedingly  nutritious  and  tasty,  and  of  low  cost. 

Eight  quarts  stock,  four  quarts  water,  three  quarts  potatoes  (cut  in  dice),  one  teaspoonful 
white  pepper,  two  teaspoonfuls  salt,  ten  ounces  flour,  six  ounces  dripping,  twelve  cloves,  twelve 
allspice,  twelve  pepper-corns,  one  teaspoonful  celery  seed,  two  bay  leaves,  two  quarts  meat  dice, 
one  quart  dry  dumpling  or  noodles.* 

Stock,  water,  salt  and  pepper  heated  to  boiling.  Spices  bruised  and  cooked  ten  minutes  in 
a  little  water,  then  strained  into  the  soup.  Fat  and  flour  cooked  together,  wet  with  cold  broth 
and  strained  into  soup.     Add  dumplings,  cook  until  soft,  and  then  add  meat  and  potato  dice. 

Another  of  the  standard  soups  of  high  nutritive  value  and  low  cost  is  the 

Pea  Sorp. 

For  thirty-six  quarts  use  :  Twelve  pounds  dried  peas,  four  pounds  lean  pork  or  a  ham  bone, 
one  pound  onions,  four  teaspoonfuls  savory,  one  teaspoonful  marjoram,  one  teaspoonful  thyme, 
one  teaspoonful  white  pepper,  one-half  teaspoonful  red  pepper,  ten  ounces  salt,  twenty  quarts 
cold  water. 

Place  the  cooker  in  the  cold  Aladdin  Oven  about  four  o'clock  and  change  tlie  lamp  for  a 
fresh  one  at  half-past  six,  as  in  the  case  of  the  standard  broth.  In  tlie  morning  strain,  add  water 
to  make  up  thirty-six  quarts.  Stir  ten  ounces  of  flour  into  water  and  add  with  constant  stirring. 
Bring  the  whole  to  the  boiling  point. 

Beans  and  lentils  may  be  made  into  soup  in  the  same  manner,  and  eitlier  milk  or 
water  may  be  used  to  reduce  the  soup  if  it  is  too  hearty. 

The  food  value  of  these  standard  dishes  has  been  calculated  as  follows,  in  grammes : 


iOTEID. 

FAT. 

CABBOHYDBATES. 

CAIiOBIES, 

41.0 

1.0 

174.4 

24.9 

6.3 

30.4 

283.8 

25.4 

8.6 

48.5 

380.4 

52.2 

14.1 

52.6 

555.9 

36.3 

26.7 

85.7 

743.2 

1.  One  quart  beef  broth, 

2.  One  quart  tomato  soup, 

3.  One  quart  barley  soup, 

4.  One  quart  beef  stew, 

5.  One  quart  pea  soup, 

Fish  Balls. 
To  make  five  dozen  use :  Two  pounds  one  ounce  boneless  codfish,  six  pounds  four  ounces 
pared  raw  potatoes.     Boil  in  water  until  soft.     After  draining,  add  three  ounces  dripping,  and 
beat  until  perfectly  light  and  very  smooth.     When  cooled  somewhat  add  four  well  beaten  eggs  and 
salt  to  taste.     Brown  in  deep  fat. 


*  One-third  teaspoonful  salt,  one-third  pint  stock,  two-thirds  tablespoonful  dripping. 
al)0ut  one  quart  noodles. 


Flour  to  stiifen,  makes 


the  science  of  nutrition.  201 

Corn  Bread. 

This  may  be  made  in  cakes  or  sheets.  For  five  dozen  cakes  use :  Three  pints  flour,  two 
pints  Indian  meal,  three  pints  milk,  three  eggs,  seven  ounces  sugar,  six  ounces  dripping,  three 
ounces  baking  powder,  one  teaspoonful  salt.     Bake  slowly  and  thoroughly. 

Indian  Pudding. 

One  quart  milk,  seven  and  one-half  ounces  corn  meal,  three  gills  molasses,  two  ounces 
butter,  two  teaspoonfuls  salt,  one  tablespoonful  sugar,  one-quarter  teaspoonful  nutmeg,  one-half 
teaspoonful  cinnamon,  three-quarters  teaspoonful  ginger.  Steam  two  and  one-half  hours,  then  add 
one  quart  cold  milk,  and  bake  two  hours  in  Aladdin,  which  is  heated  to  begin  with.  This  makes 
two  and  one-half  quarts. 

Rice  Pudding. 

Two  tablespoonfuls  rice,  one  tablespoonful  sugar,  one-half  teaspoonful  salt,  one  quart  milk. 
Makes  one  quart,  or  two  puddings.  Bake  three  and  one-half  hours  in  Aladdin,  which  is  hot  be- 
fore the  puddings  are  put  in. 


TESTIMONIALS. 


I  may  be  permitted  to  present  some  of  the  replies  which  have  been  given  to  my 
questions.  It  will  be  apparent  that  I  have  taken  all  reasonable  precautions  so  as 
not  to  mislead  any  one.  It  is  my  own  opinion  that  this  apparatus^  or  a  better  one 
corresponding  to  it,  will  ultimately  work  a  complete  revolution  in  the  processes  of 
cooking.  "Whether  I  am  mistaken  or  not,  will  presently  appear  from  the  following 
letters  which  have  been  written  by  those  who  have  made  use  of  the  ovens.  They 
have  been  sent  to  me  in  response  to  the  single  request  that  those  who  have  used  the 
ovens  would  state  to  me  their  results  and  give  the  facts  as  they  are.  E.  A. 

In  a  report  to  the  trustees  of  the  Elizabeth  Thompson  Fund,  Mrs.  Ellen  H. 
Richards  gives  her  conclusions  as  to  the  requirements  of  an  ideal  cooking  apparatus, 
as  follows  : 

ESSENTIALS  FOR  GOOD  COOKING. 

APPARATUS. 

For  ordinary  Cooking  apparatus  the  following  are  essential  points : 

1.  The  degree  of  heat  should  be  under  perfect  control ;  increased,  diminished 
or  withdrawn  at  will,  and  without  loss  of  time.  This  can  only  be  attained  with 
liquid  or  gaseous  fuel.  Solid  fuel  demands  constant  and  equable  running  and  gives 
the  best  results  when  used  in  large  masses.  The  small  fire-box  of  a  cook  stove,  and 
the  urging  of  the  fire  for  a  short  time  three  times  a  day  are  fatal  objections  to  the 
use  of  anthracite. 

3.  A  tightly  closed  vessel  heated  by  steam,  or  hot  water,  or  hot  air,  offers 
many  advantages  over  the  top  of  a  red-hot  stove  or  the  inside  of  a  nearly  red-hot 
cast-iron  oven  for  cooking,  except  for  the  broiling  and  the  roasting  of  meat  and  for 
some  other  methods  of  cookery  which  require  the  quick  application  of  heat. 

3.  For  all  purposes  of  slow  cooking  the  oven  should  have  a  non-conducting 
covering  which  retains  the  heat  where  it  is  wanted,  and  also  allows  of  tight  closing 
and  of  security  from  the  constant  watching  required  by  the  fitful  heat  of  a  stove. 


i 


THE   SCIENCE   OF  NUTEITION.  203 

This  use  of  a  close  oven  with  a  non-evaporative  atmosphere,  seems  to  be  the 
secret  of  the  retention  of  the  delicate  and  volatile  flavors  which  usually  flavor  the 
house  and  street,  and  not  the  food  as  it  is  brought  to  the  table. 

The  Aladdin  Oven  or  Covered  Stove.  This  is  a  square  or  oblong  box  of  sheet 
iron  of  any  desired  size,  with  a  non-conducting  covering  of  magnesian  cement  or 
wood  pulp,  and  is  heated  with  a  kerosene  lamp  or  gas  burner.  The  size  in  use  for 
these  experiments  is  18  by  12  by  14  inches,  and  gives  a  cooking  space  at  least  equal 
to  that  of  a  No.  8  Crawford  cook  stove,  and  when  empty  can  be  heated  to  about 
300°  F.  in  an  hour,  and  maintain  that  temperature  for  eight  hours  by  a  single 
kerosene  lamp  of  the  Rochester  burner  type,  with  the  consumption  of  one  quart  of 
kerosene.  When  well  filled  with  food  materials  in  small  portions  the  heat  is 
sufficient  to  heat  them  in  about  twice  the  time  allowed  by  an  ordinary  cook  stove. 
When  the  space  is  completely  filled  with  a  vessel  containing,  for  instance,  forty 
pounds  of  meat  and  bone  and  fifteen  quarts  of  water,  the  whole  is  raised  from  a 
temperature  of  70°  to  180°  F,  in  seven  hours,  and  to  212°  in  twelve  hours.  If  the 
lamp  is  then  taken  away  or  allowed  to  go  out,  the  temperature  does  not  fall  below 
190°  for  four  hours. 

For  this  twelve  hours,  one  and  one-half  quarts  of  kerosene  are  needed,  or  a  gas 
burner  can  be  used.  For  simplicity,  effective  use  of  heat,  economy  of  fuel  and 
development  of  flavor  in  the  food  cooked,  combined  with  increase  of  its  digestibility, 
the  Aladdin  Oven  is  an  apparatus  far  exceeding  in  merit  any  other  now  in  market. 
It  will  not  meet  all  the  demands  that  the  modern  cook  now  makes  of  the  kitchen 
stove,  and  it  may  be  in  several  respects  improved,  but  in  the  application  of  well- 
known  and  long-tried  scientific  principles  to  the  cookery  of  food,  it  is  a  distinct 
advance  and  a  most  valuable  invention. 


Poet  Aethur,  Oisttario,  Canada,  May  11,  1890. 
Edward  Atkinson,  Esq.,  Brookline,  Mass. 

I  gladly  furnish  my  testimony  in  favor  of  your  Aladdin  Oven,  for  I  feel  that  I 
can  hardly  say  too  much  in  praise  of  its  numerous  merits  : 

Its  economy  of  fuel,  not  only  in  the  limited  amount  actually  consumed,  and  the 
low  price  thereof,  but  in  the  amount  saved  from  waste  whilst  no  cooking  is  going 
on,  or  during  the  slow  simmering  processes. 

Its  economy  of  time  and  labor,  as  the  amount  of  requisite  attention  paid  to  the 
food  during  the  process  of  cooking  is  so  small ;  and  there  is  no  building  of  fire,  and 
watching  and  regulating  the  same. 


204  THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION. 

Its  economy  of  food  itself,  for  none  of  it  need  be  wasted  or  spoiled,  even  by 
heedless  people. 

Its  cleanliness  ;  no  ashes  ;  no  dust ;  no  soot ;  no  smoke  from  chimney  or  lamp. 

Its  contribution  to  comfort,  not  only  as  shown  in  above  items,  but  also  in  pre- 
serving an  even  temperature  in  the  kitchen  or  the  house,  and  more  especially 
during  the  summer,  in  escaping  all  extra  heat ;  and  also  in  the  avoidance  of  steam, 
and  the  absolute  freedom  from  the  odors  given  off  from  the  food  in  cooking,  often 
very  offensive,  as  from  some  vegetables,  from  corned  meats,  and  the  like  ;  no  smell 
from  any  scorched  or  burned  food  ;  no  smell  of  kerosene  smoke,  nor  of  coal  gas. 

Its  convenience  in  the  instantaneous  starting  and  extinguishing  of  the  heat, 
and  the  increasing  or  modifying  of  the  same,  without  the  trouble  of  attending  to 
the  fires,  etc.,  etc. 

Its  convenience  also  in  having  everything  handy  at  meal  times,  as  the  oven, 
whilst  in  actual  use,  can  be  kept  within  arm's  length  of  the  dinner  table,  without 
the  least  offense  of  any  sort  to  the  family  or  guests. 

Its  conve?iience  also  in  lighting  up  the  apartment,  if  desired,  at  the  same 
moment  that  it  is  doing  its  proper  work  of  cookery. 

Its  most  notable  coyivenience  to  early  risers,  laborers  and  others,  or  to  nursers  or 
watchers,  in  doing  its  work  atitomatically  through  the  night,  and  furnishing  a  hot 
breakfast  at  any  desirable  hour,  all  ready  to  hand  ;  or  in  the  same  way  serving 
bachelors,  who  must  be  absent  during  the  day,  to  find  a  hot  meal  awaiting  their 
return. 

Its  ministei'ing  to  the  pleasiires  of  the  gastro?iomer  or  to  the  delicate  palate  of 
the  invalid,  by  giving  such  marked  improvement  to  the  flavors  and  the  tenderness 
of  fish,  flesh  and  fowl — of  breads,  cakes  and  other  viands.  Many  old  dishes  acquire 
a  new  charm  in  this  oven. 

Its  conducing  to  the  health  of  those  who  use  it  (and  this  should  be  the  highest 
consideration  of  all)  through  the  superior  quality  of  the  cookery,  which  is  un- 
deniably rendered  more  wholesome  and  nutritious  under  this  slower,  gradual  and 
thorough  process.  It  must  tend  largely  to  obviate  or  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of 
dyspe2osia. 

Its  compactness  and  portability ,  making  it  available  for  travel,  and  just  the 
thing  to  carry  with  one  to  summer  resorts,  or  for  permament  use  in  camps,  and 
frontier  cabins  (where  my  own  is  now,  and  of  invaluable  service). 

Such  a  combination  of  advantages  over  any  cook  stoves  or  ranges,  over  kerosene 
stoves,  or  even  gas  stoves,  ought  to  give  the  Aladdin  Oven  a  preference  over  all, 
and  bring  it  into  general  use  among  all  classes  ;  but  even  more  universally  among 
the  poor  than  the  rich. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION.  20.5 

The  inventor  disclaims  the  ability  or  desire  to  fry  anything  in  this  oven.  For 
my  part,  I  confess  to  being  fond  of  a  fry.  And  by  some  management  one  can  get 
up  a  pretty  good  suhstitute  for  it,  in  the  oven. 

In  its  present  form  there  is  no  special  arrangement  of  utensils  for  hot  water. 
But  some  water  can  readily  be  heated  on  the  top  of  the  oven,  whilst  cooking  is 
going  on  inside,  by  setting  a  vessel,  properly  fitted,  over  the  vent-pipe. 

Very  truly  yours, 
(Signed)  Edwakd  A.  Wild,  M.  D. 

Late  Brig.  Gen.  U.  S.  Vols. 


The  Storks  School  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 
W.  O.  Atwater,  Director.        C.  S.  Phelps,  Yice-Director.        C.  D.  Woods,  Chemist. 

Middletown,  Ct.,  June,  1890. 
To  whom  it  may  concern  : 

The  Aladdin  Oven  has  been  in  constant  use  in  my  family  for  the  past  five 
months,  and  in  that  time,  with  all  the  cooking  that  has  been  done  in  it,  there  has 
been  no  such  thing  as  complete  failure  with  any  of  the  dishes  prepared  and  cooked 
in  it,  although  these  were  largely  experimental  in  their  proportions  and  especially  in 
time  of  cooking.  At  first  some  miscalculation  as  to  the  amount  of  heat  given 
by  different  lamps  gave  rise  to  some  uncertainty  in  time  required  for  cooking. 

Bread  baked  in  this  oven  acquires  a  peculiarly  agreeable  nutty  flavor,  such  as  I 
have  never  found  in  bread  otherwise  baked.  Cereals  of  all  kinds,  cooked  for  a  long 
time  at  a  low  temperature,  are  much  superior  in  taste  to  those  cooked  in  the  ordinary 
way.  Cheaper,  and  consequently  tougher  cuts  of  meat  can,  by  the  application  of 
low  heat  for  a  long  time,  be  cooked  so  as  to  become  as  tender  and  juicy  as  the  better 
cuts  are  as  ordinarily  cooked.  Eoasts  of  meat,  especially  lamb,  veal,  pork,  poultry, 
etc.,  have  their  flavor  greatly  improved  by  this  method  of  cooking. 

(Signed)  Charles  D.  Woods. 


James  C.  Botce, 

Attorney-at-Law  and  Solicitor  of    Patents,   and  Counselor   in    Patent    Causes,   91 

Water  street,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.     (With  Oil  Well  Supply  Co.,  Limited.) 

Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  May  5,  1890. 
Edward  Atkinson,  Esq.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Dear  Sir  : — Eeplying  to  your  letter  of  April  22,  I  would  say  that  we  have  been 
using  your  Aladdin  Oven  for  several  months.  Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  its  praise. 
It  does  its  work  to  perfection,  and  everything  cooked  in  it  is  tenderer  and  more  flnely 


206  THE   SCIEJSrCE   OF   NUTEITION". 

flavored  than  anything  I  ever  tasted  before.  We  use  it  with  natural  gas.  The  con- 
sumption of  gas  is  very  trivial.  At  the  rates  charged  for  natural  gas,  the  closest 
calculation  that  I  can  make  shows  that  it  does  not  cost  over  five  cents  per  month  for 
cooking  for  a  family  of  five  persons.  It  uses  about  three  feet  an  hour,  or  about  ten 
feet  a  day,  say  three  hundred  feet  a  month. 

Much  as  we  have  liked  it  heretofo4-e,  it  will  be  still  more  valuable  during  the 
summer  months,  as  the  heat  is  concentrated  around  the  oven,  and  is  not  radiated 
through  the  room.  It  will,  therefore,  avoid  all  the  discomforts  of  cooking  in  the 
summer  time. 

I  shall  be  happy  at  any  time  to  have  you  refer  to  me,  and  will  cheerfully  show 
the  operation  of  the  oven  to  any  one  who  will  visit  my  house  at  the  corner  of  Fifth 
avenue  and  Halket  street. 

Yours  truly, 
(Signed)  James  C.  Boyce. 


New  England  Kitchen,  142  Pleasant  street, 

Boston,  July  15,  1890. 
Me.  Edwakd  Atkinson. 

Dear  Sir  : — For  the  past  six  months  we  have  had  in  constant  use  in  the  New 
England  Kitchen,  three  Aladdin  Ovens  of  the  largest  size.  In  them  we  have  made 
daily  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  quarts  of  beef  broth  aud  twenty  quarts  of  pea  soup. 
We  did  not  settle  on  your  oven  for  this  purpose  until  we  had  thoroughly  tested  it 
and  all  other  utensils  that  seemed  likely  to  meet  our  requirements,  which  were  that 
the  broth  should  be  invariable  in  quality  from  day  to  day,  and  that  as  large  a 
quantity  as  possible  of  a  fine  flavor  should  be  yielded  by  a  given  weight  of  meat, 
and  that  also  with  a  small  outlay  for  labor  and  fuel.  Your  oven  meets  these  re- 
quirements exactly.  The  cost  of  fuel  for  making  twenty-five  quarts  is  five  cents, 
and  no  care  is  needed  between  preparing  the  meat  and  straining  the  broth  when  done. 

We  recommend  this  method  most  heartily  to  hospitals,  hotels  and  all  institu- 
tions that  cook  in  large  quantities. 

Mart  Hinman  Abel. 


Herbert  Hall,  Worcester,  Mass.,  Sept.  25,  1889. 
To  whom  it  may  concern  : 

This  is  to  certify  that  I  have  had  the  Atkinson  Oven  or  Baker  in  use  at  my 
house  and  have  quite  fully  tested  its  merits. 

Vegetables  and  meats  were  cooked  in  the  oven  in  my  dining-room  without 
giving  ofl  any  perceptible  odor. 


THE    SCIEN"CE    OF   NIJTEITION.  207 

The  cooking  was  exceedingly  well  done,  without  scorching  or  drying.  The 
meats  were  tender,  jwicy,  and  of  unusually  good  flavor. 

Puddings  and  pies  were  not  only  well  cooked,  but  were  ripened,  so  to  speak,  as, 
it  seems  to  me,  they  could  be  by  no  other  process  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 

The  work  is  accomplished  without  care  or  concern  and  at  a  merely  nominal 
expense. 

Food  is  not  only  much  more  cheaply  cooked  by  this  process,  its  value  is  greatly 
enhanced.  It  is  more  nutritious,  and  it  is  more  digestible,  thus  promoting  health 
and  longevity. 

It  is  not  easy  to  estimate  the  full  benefit  which  might  be  derived  from  the 
adoption  of  this  cheap,  wise  and  healthy  mode  of  preparing  food. 

(Signed)  Mekrick  Bemis,  M.  D. 


23  Aelingtok  steeet.  West  Medfoed,  Mass.,  July  23,  1890. 
Edwaed  Atkiistson^,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir  : — My  knowledge  of  the  merits  of  the  Aladdin  Oven  leaves  little  doubt 
in  my  mind  that  you  must  have  already  received  such  favorable  opinions  of  it  from 
high  places  as  to  put  my  lame  excuses  into  the  shade.  It  has  occurred  to  me,  how- 
ever, that  my  evidence  as  a  working  man  might  have  a  peculiar  value  on  that  ac- 
count. My  oven  measures  ten  inches  each  way  inside.  With  the  assistance  of  a 
little  single-wick  oil  stove  for  boiling,  it  does  the  entire  cooking  for  my  family  of 
three.  Our  breakfast,  consisting  usually  of  oatmeal  porridge,  stewed  fruit,  and 
perhaps  fish,  or  some  simple  meat  stew,  is  invariably  put  into  the  oven  before  we 
retire  for  the  night,  and  is  always  perfectly  cooked  in  the  morning.  The  coffee  on 
the  top  shelf  has  a  fine  flavor  when  treated  in  this  way.  The  oatmeal,  etc.,  is  put 
on  the  lower  shelf  and  the  lamp  turned  down  until  the  flame  is  about  half  size. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  July  4,  we  left  home  on  a  visit,  having  first  placed  the 
usual  breakfast  in  the  oven,  and  put  under  it  a  small  lamp  turned  low  enough  to 
make  the  oil  last.  We  arrived  home  at  eight  o^ clock  the  next  morning  to  find  every- 
thing cooked  as  nicely  as  usual.  And  what  was  more  important  Just  then  (we  being 
hungry  after  traveling)  the  food  was  at  just  the  right  temperature  to  commence 
operations  immediately.  I  could  add,  if  it  were  necessary,  many  other  occasions 
when  we  made  extraordinary  demands  upon  the  oven,  never  to  be  disappointed. 

It  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  only  cooking  arrangement  which  has  yet  been  invented 
which  does  its  work  with  absolute  certainty  and  exactness. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Wm.  p.  Peert. 


208  THE   SCIE]SrCE   OF   KUTRITIOif. 

Dear  Mr.  Atkinson  : 

I  am  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  justice  of  all  your  claims  for  the  Aladdin 
Oven,  and  you  may  use  my  name  with  the  greatest  pleasure  on  my  part.  I  am 
sorry  that  I  cannot  be  set  down  as  one  who  has  discarded  all  other  means  of  cooking 
save  this ;  but  the  fact  is  that  the  oven  remains  only  an  adjunct  to  the  range  in  my 
household.  This  is  only  because  I  have  not  yet  done  sufficient  battle  with  my  cook, 
who  is  conservative  by  temperament,  illogical  by  sex,  and  unable  to  see  her  true 
interests  by  race.  But  I  felt  last  summer  that  I  was  tasting,  for  the  first  time,  cer- 
tain vegetables  long  familiar  by  name. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Elizabeth  Fairchild. 


66  Marlboro  St.,  Boston,  Jan.  12,  1891. 
Mr.  Edward  Atkinson. 

My  Dear  Sir : — I  had  your  Aladdin  Oven  in  use  in  a  farmhouse  in  the  White 
Mountains  during  last  summer,  as  an  annex  to  the  customary  wood  cooking  stove. 

I  found  the  Aladdin  Oven  an  ideal  one  for — First,  economy  in  fuel  ;  second, 
for  dispensing  with  the  intense  heat  of  a  cooking  stove ;  third,  for  the  saving  of 
labor  in  watching  the  process  of  cooking, — thus,  beans  and  oatmeal  may  be  cooked 
all  right  with  no  attention  from  the  cook  ;  fourth,  and  to  me  most  striking  and 
important  of  all,  for  producing  by  its  slow  process  of  cooking  a  better  flavor.  This 
remark  is  applicable  to  soups,  fish,  corn  and  other  meals,  rice  and  bread  puddings 
and  fruits. 

I  shall  be  glad  another  summer  to  make  further  experiments;  not  only  a  pliant 
and  receptive  disposition,  but  time  is  needed  to  evolve  the  full  capabilities  of  the 
Aladdin  Oven. 

You  are  at  liberty  to  use  my  name  as  one  interested  in  any  experiment  which 

may  contribute  to  the  simplicity,  economy  and  nutritive  value  of  the  home-table  to 

the  family.  I  am  sincerely, 

^  Emily  Talbot. 

106  Hammond  St.,  Chicago,  Jan.  12, 1891. 

Dear  Mr.  Atkinson  : — It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  answer  your  letter  of  the 
5th,  because  I  am  able  to  bear  testimony  to  the  value  of  the  Aladdin  Oven,  and 
especially  because  Mrs.  Trumbull  desires  me  to  add  her  testimony  to  mine,  and 
indeed  hers  is  the  most  important. 

She  thinks  that  you  will  be  classed  among  the  great  abolitionists  in  the  domain 
of  domestic  economy ;  that,  as  the  abolitionist  of  cook-stove  slavery,  you  will  be 
famous  as  Elias  Howe,  the  abolitionist  of  needle  slavery  ;  and  in  due  time,  she 


THE    SCIENCE    OP   NUTKITION.  200 

hopes  that  there  will  arise  in  Boston  or  thereabouts  an  abolitionist  of  wash-tub 
slavery  to  complete  the  triumvirate. 

It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  Mrs.  Trumbull  was  for  a  long  time  sceptical  as  to  the 
value  of  the  oven  ;  for  the  reason,  I  suppose,  that  it  was  so  easy,  simple  and  cheap. 
For  several  weeks  it  was  neglected  under  the  pretext  that  we  had  no  proper  lamp 
for  it,  and  that  some  day,  when  down  in  the  city,  she  would  buy  the  exact  lamp 
required,  and  give  the  oven  a  fair  trial.  Your  address  to  the  doctors  excited  her 
curiosity,  and  she  determined  to  test  the  oven  by  the  use  of  an  old  ''  Daylight " 
lamp,  which  we  found  among  the  rubbish  in  the  cellar.  The  result  was  a  great 
triumph  for  Aladdin.  The  cooking  was  perfect,  and  the  fuel  cost  scarcely 
anything,  while  the  ease  and  comfort  of  the  cook  gave  a  calm,  benign,  religious 
tone  to  the  temper,  unattainable  under  the  cook-stove  reign. 

You  are  at  perfect  liberty  to  use  my  name  and  testimony  in  any  way  you  please, 
and  my  wife  says,  '^Tell  Mr.  Atkinson  he  may  use  my  name  also  ;^^  therefore,  I 
will  sign  this  letter  with  both  our  names. 

Most  truly  yours, 

M.  M.  Trumbull  and  Frajstces  Trumbull. 
To  Hox.  Edward  Atkinson,  Boston,  Mass. 


ToPEKA,  Kan.,  Feb.  4,  1891. 
Mr.  Edward  Atkinson,  Boston,  Mass. 

Dear  Sir  : — Your  favor  of  the  16th  ult.  duly  at  hand.  We  can  say  that  we  are 
well  pleased  with  your  oven  and  consider  it  the  best  thing  we  know  of  for  our  use. 
We  keep  it  in  our  sampling-room  attached  to  the  office,  where  we  can  bake  a  batch 
of  bread  at  any  time.  We  made  one  change,  viz.,  getting  a  larger  lamp  so  that  we 
bake  the  bread  in  the  time  of  an  ordinary  stove.  The  writer  has  experimented  with 
making  bread  as  you  suggest,  raising  three  hours,  and  baking  three  hours  with  the 
small  lamp,  taking  it  home  where  we  like  it  better  than  the  other  way  of  making 
bread  ;  although  it  is  not  so  fine-grained,  perhaps  the  fault  of  the  baker.  Have 
also  tried  a  beef  roast  with  the  small  lamp,  and  a  better  cooked  or  jucier  and 
tenderer  roast  never  came  on  our  table.  We  intend  having  one  of  the  ovens  in  our 
kitchen  before  hot  weather  comes. 

Yours  truly, 

Crosby  Milling  Co. 

T.  E.  E.  Kidder. 
You  can  use  this  for  publication  if  you  wish,  as  we  state  only  facts. 


210  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 

Columbus,  Georgia,  June  19,  1891. 
Mr.  Edward  Atkinson. 

Dear  Sir  : — The  Aladdin  Oven  has  been  in  daily  use  in  my  family  for  about  two 
months,  and  all  the  various  kinds  of  meats  and  vegetables  in  the  market  have  been 
cooked.  The  results  have  been  so  highly  satisfactory  that  every  member  of  my 
family  joins  in  insisting  on  everything  being  cooked  in  it.  The  improved  flavor 
given  to  food  by  this  slow  process  is  very  manifest. 

For  meats  of  all  kinds,  it  is  unequaled.  That  verdict  has  been  unanimous  by 
every  one  of  the  numerous  persons  who  have  tested  it;  meats,  which  from  an  ordinary 
oven  would  be  tough  and  undesirable,  from  the  Aladdin  are  always  tender.  Southern 
mutton,  usually  as  tough  as  dried  beef,  becomes  tender  as  veal.  In  one  instance,  to 
test  this  feature,  my  wife  bought  a  cut  of  neck  beef,  which  the  butcher  said  could 
not  be  eaten,  and  protested  against  the  purchase;  but  after  cooking,  it  was  tender 
as  chicken,  and  would  have  been  pronounced,  first-class  roast  beef  elsewhere.  I 
believe  that  any  kind  of  meat,  not  allied  to  gristle  or  leather  to  start  with,  will 
come  out  of  this  oven  tender.  Have  never  yet  found  any  portion  of  any  meat 
cooked,  not  thoroughly  tender  and  of  good  flavor.  No  one  will  believe  what  a 
change  it  makes  until  convinced  by  actual  trial.  Another  feature  is,  that  while  in 
an  ordinary  oven  there  is  considerable  loss  of  weight  in  meat  in  cooking,  in  this  one 
there  is  very  little  loss,  and  almost  as  much  weight  comes  out  as  went  in.*  With  the 
various  kinds  of  vegetables  cooked,  my  family  agree  that  all,  except  Irish  potatoes, 
are  better  from  the  Aladdin,  and  some  are  very  much  better.  A  great  variety  have 
been  repeatedly  tried,  as  every  day  the  oven  has  been  filled  with  meat  and  vegetables 
for  nine  persons.  Cooked  in  closed  vessels  the  loss  in  weight  or  natural  flavor  is 
small,  and  vegetables  come  from  the  oven  with  natural  taste  remaining  and  in  the 
most  desirable  condition. 

Cost  of  oil  for  heat  is  very  small  and  much  less  than  fuel  for  a  stove.  We  like 
the  oven  so  well,  I  am  building  a  special  small  room  especially  for  it,  and  would  not 
dispense  with  its  use  under  any  consideration.  Any  one  who  will  try  will  have  a 
like  experience.  No  previous  instruction  in  use  is  necessary — simply  prepare  the 
food,  put  it  in  the  oven  over  the  lighted  lamp,  and  the  oven  itself  will  do  the  rest — 
requiring  almost  no  attention.  Time  will  demonstrate  the  very  great  value  of  this 
system  of  cooking.     It  has  passed  the  theoretical  stage.     Trial  demonstrates  to  any 

one  the  results. 

Yours  truly, 

John  Hill. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   NUTRITION.  211 

FEOM  A  WESTEEN  LADY. 

Dear  Mr.  Atkinson  : 

I  doubt  not  you  are  frequently  met  with  the  objection,  that  servants  are  not 
willing  to  use  the  Aladdin  Oven,  and  my  own  experience  has  been  that  any  attempt 
to  reduce  labor  or  waste  is  met  by  an  amount  of  prejudice  and  obstinacy  which  is 
extremely  annoying,  and  which  is  submitted  to  by  intelligent  housekeepers  who 
would  not  show  a  similar  subserviency  under  any  other  circumstances ;  but  a 
moderate  amount  of  superintendence  and  explanation  combined  with  the  successful 
results  which  never  fail,  will  soon  convince  the  most  obdurate.  A  Canadian  French 
woman,  who  had  followed  the  business  of  cooking  for  more  than  thirty  years  and 
who  was  thoroughly  steeped- in  the  platitude  that  "  old  ways  were  good  enough  for 
her,"  affords  an  illustration  of  what  can  be  done  by  the  argument  of  facts.  More 
than  the  ordinary  amount  of  insistance  was  necessary  on  my  part  to  compel  the  use 
of  the  oven.  But  she  yielded  sooner  then  give  up  her  place,  which  was  made  the 
alternative.  Before  the  end  of  a  week,  she  would  not  willingly  have  gone  back  to 
the  range.  Before  the  month  was  out,  a  friend  having  lost  her  cook  and  having 
a  case  of  sickness  in  her  family,  I  desired  Marie  to  go  to  her,  promising  her  a  good 
place  and  where  she  would  meet  with  every  consideration  she  ought  to  expect — 
especially  as  my  family  was  leaving  for  the  summer  home  and  I  could  not  keep  her 
much  longer  and  she  could  remain  with  Mrs.  S.  indefinitely.  The  transfer  was 
made  and  all  went  well  for  forty-eight  hours,  when  my  friend  was  surprised  to  learn 
that  Marie  wished  to  leave — her  only  explanation  being — ''I  have  decided  not  to 
cook  any  longer  over  a  hot  range."  Expostulation  was  in  vain — her  only  reply  was — 
"  People  must  get  them  kind  of  ovens  if  they  want  to  keep  cooks — These  ranges 
they  can't  stand  in  summer" — and  so  she  left. 

With  regard  to  the  incident  of  the  cook,  I  am  only  too  glad  to  furnish  any  proof 
that  no  obstacle  need  exist  among  servants,  against  using  the  oven,  if  mistresses  are 
willing  to  once  set  them  on  the  right  track — to  look  after  the  business  of  their 
households,  as  a  man  looks  after  the  business  of  his  office. 


Brookline,  June  16,  1891. 
Edward  Atkinson,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir  : — I  am  very  glad  to  be  able  to  testify  in  favor  of  the  Aladdin  Oven. 
The  cook  likes  it,  as  it  simplifies  work  in  the  kitchen  and  the  kitchen  itself  is  kept 
comparatively  cool  in  this  hot  weather.     The  family  likes  it  on  account  of  the 


212  THE   SCIEIfCE   OE   NUTKITIOiq". 

great  excellence  of  the  food.     We  never  think  of  having  our  meat  or  bread  cooked 
in  any  other  way. 

Both  of  my  children  formerly  ate  meat,  beef  and  mutton  with  reluctance,  had 
to  be  urged,  and  only  a  little  could  be  given  them.  Since  using  the  oven  they  have 
taken  a  great  fancy  to  meat  and  seem  disposed  to  make  the  entire  meal  of  it.  This 
alone  is  sufficient  justification  for  the  oven. 

So  far  as  we  have  tried  it  I  am  able  to  endorse  all  your  own  encomiums.  In 
fact,  we  have  frequently  put  an  old  fowl  into  the  oven  and  turned  him  into  a  spring 
chicken. 

You  are  very  welcome  to  make  use  of  my  name  if  you  wish. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Tucker  Daland. 


Mrs.  Edward  Atkinson  sends  us  her  verdict  in  the  following  terms: 

Edward  Atkinson. 

You  ask  for  my  opinion  of  the  Aladdin  Oven.  I  think  too  much  cannot  be 
said  in  its  praise.  It  has  been  an  immense  comfort  and  convenience  ever  since  its 
introduction  into  our  kitchen  more  than  three  years  ago,  and  it  has  lightened  the 
burden  of  housekeeping  to  an  almost  incredible  extent.  It  really  is  as  if  a  magician 
waved  his  wand,  when  a  Thanksgiving  dinner  for  twenty-four  persons  can  be  cooked 
with  but  a  feather's  weight  of  the  care  and  trouble  necessary  in  the  use  of  the 
range  or  cooking  stove. 

Yet  the  idea  of  quickness  associated  with  the  feats  of  a  magician  must  be  dis- 
carded in  the  use  of  the  Aladdin  Oven.  For  although  frying  may  be  imitated  in 
this  oven  with  comparative  speed,  slowness  in  cooking  is  the  grand  desideratum—^ 
and  also  the  great  merit  of  the  oven. 

Mary  C.  Atkinson. 

Broohline,  Jan.  13,  1891. 

Finally,  the  question  may  be  asked.  What  do  the  cooks  say  about  this  appara- 
tus ?  Those  who  are  intelligent  and  not  opinionated  are  glad  to  adopt  this  oven  for 
many  reasons  :  it  saves  a  large  part  of  the  work  and  renders  it  wholly  unnecessary 
to  stand  over  a  hot  stove  while  attending  to  the  preparation  of  food.  The  better 
way  will  be  for  the  stenographer  to  whom  this  statement  is  being  dictated  to  get 
from  the  cook,  who  for  over  two  years  has  prepared  a  mid-day  meal  for  the  employees, 
numbering  over  twenty,  in  an  office  in  Boston,  at  an  average  cost  of  not  exceeding 
twenty  cents  a  day  for  a  substantial  and  excellent  meal,  a  statement  of  her  experi- 


THE   SCIENCE   01    NUTKITION.  213' 

ence  in  her  own  words  without  any  change  or  variation  by  the  writer.  I  gave  her 
a  few  verbal  instructions  only.     Her  statement  is  as  follows  : 

"  When  I  first  undertook  to  cook  in  this  way  I  knew  nothing  about  the  method, 
and  had  never  even  used  a  kerosene  stove  of  any  kind  whatever.  But  I  thought  if 
any  one  could  succeed,  I  could,  so  I  was  not  afraid  to  try.  I  have  liked  the  ovens 
from  the  beginning,  finding  my  work  easier  after  the  first  preparation,  nearly  one- 
half  the  time  of  the  work  being  saved  by  not  having  to  watch  and  tend  it ;  and  I 
also  find  the  saving  of  heat  and  the  necessary  work  connected  with  a  common  stove 
is  very  great.  I  have  never  had  the  slightest  failure  or  waste  in  the  cooking  of  the 
food  from  the  time  I  first  undertook  it.  I  can  do  everything  except  fry,  and  I  can 
imitate  a  fry  or  a  broil  very  nicely.  With  several  ovens,  an  outside  supply  of  hot 
water,  and  a  three-holed  iron  table  for  the  making  of  sauces,  gravies,  tea  and  coffee, 
etc.,  with  one  assistant  I  could  do  the  cooking  for  one  hundred  people.  I  use  one 
of  the  smaller  ovens  at  my  home,  where  I  do  the  cooking  for  my  own  family  of 
three,  at  night  after  I  return  home  from  my  day's  work." 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  room  in  which  this  woman  does  her  work  is  on 
the  middle  floor  of  a  large  ofl&ce  building.  It  was  intended  to  be  let  for  an  office  ; 
it  has  no  chimney-flue  in  it.  It  is  ventilated  by  the  outer  windows  and  by  a  transom 
window  over  the  door  into  the  hallway.  The  adjoining  room  is  used  as  a  dining- 
room.  The  landlord  permitted  the  use  of  this  office  for  a  kitchen  on  condition  that 
the  work  should  be  stopped  at  a  day's  notice  if  there  were  any  serious  complaint. 
There  has  been  none  of  any  moment,  although  in  the  first  experiments  the  fact 
could  be  detected  that  cooking  was  going  on  somewhere  in  the  building,  by  a  little 
odor.  For  the  last  year  or  more  there  has  been  no  suspicion  attached  to  the  room; 
and  a  new  tenant  who  occupied  the  room  next  to  the  dining-room,  next  but  one  to 
this  kitchen,  did  not  find  out  for  three  weeks  that  there  was  any  cooking  going 
on  near  him. 


AFFAIKS  OF  THE  HOUSEHOLD. 

[Evening  Post,  New  York,  September  21,  1891.] 

An  intelligent  woman  who  has  given  the  Aladdin  Oven  a  thorough  trial,  says 
of  it :  ■'  I  confess  it  is  almost  a  disadvantage  that  those  who  know  this  oven  by 
actual  use  are  able  to  claim  so  much  for  it,  for  it  sounds  like  magic,  as  the  night 
cookiug  of  soup,  etc.,  and  makes  persons  unacquainted  with  it  incredulous  of  every- 
thing said  concerning  it,  but  I  think  I  shall  not  claim  too  much  if  I  give  a  list  of  the 
advantages,  which  I  have  found  in  six  months'  use  of  it,  beginning  with  the  lesser 
benefits  and  going  on  to  the  greater: 


214  THE  SCIENCE  OF  NUTRITION. 

"(1.)  Economy  of  fuel,  saving  seventy-five  per  cent. 

'^(3.)  Economy  of  eooking  utensils,  saving  ninety-five  per  cent. 

"(3.)  Economy  of  dish  and  glass  towels,  as  they  cannot  be  scorched  and  burned 
up  handling  red-hot  vessels. 

"(4.)  Economy  in  annoyance  and  mortification  in  finding  the  house  full  of 
odors,  and  subsequent  waste  of  flavor  in  dishes  on  the  table. 

"(5.)  Economy  in  labor,  saving  fifty  per  cent,  to  the  cook. 

"(6. )  Economy  in  time,  saving  fifty  per  cent,  to  the  cook.    No  attention  required. 

"(7.)  Economy  in  force,  saving  exhaustion  from  overheating,  as  there  is  no 
radiation  of  heat  as  from  a  range. 

*'(8.)  Economy  of  skill,  since  a  poor  cook  is  not  obliged  to  use  skill  in  regu- 
lating the  heat. 

"  (9)  Economy  of  food  spoiled  by  cooking,  saving  100  per  cent.,  and  dishes 
wholly  unlike  may  be  cooked  at  the  same  time,  and  no  flavor  is  imparted  from  one 
to  the  other. 

"(10.)  Economy  in  marketing,  as  inferior  pieces  of  meat  are  rendered  palatable 
and  attractive  by  this  method. 

"(11.)  Economy  in  conserving  the  nutritive  qualities  of  food  material  in  the 
highest  degree  known." 

In  the  face  of  such  evidence  as  this,  it  is  wonderful  that  any  housewife  should 
hesitate  about  adopting  an  invention  more  necessary  to  a  well-conducted  household 
than  a  clothes- wringer,  a  carpet-sweeper,  or  a  sewing  machine. 


J 


THE   ALADDIN    OVEN 

AT  THE  TUSKEGEE,  ALA.,  NORMAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL   INSTITUTE. 


Several  months  since  Principal  Booker  T,  Washington  of  the  Tuskegee  (colored) 
Institute  called  to  consult  me  upon  the  right  method  of  improving  the  nutrition  of  the  six 
hundred  or  more  students  in  that  Institute,  referring  to  the  tough  and  rather  poor  con- 
dition of  the  ordinary  beef  and  mutton  of  the  South,  and  the  strong  tendency  to  depend 
mainly  upon  bacon  and  hominy.  His  idea  had  been  to  set  up  a  battery  of  Aladdin  Ovens, 
which  I  should  have  been  very  glad  to  sell  him  but  which  I  could  not  afford  to  give  and 
which  I  told  him  he  could  not  afford  to  buy.  I  advised  him  to  construct  one  or  more 
ovens  of  pine  plank,  thickly  plastered  with  ordinary  lime  mortar  on  the  inside ;  to  place 
them  either  on  a  stone,  earth  or  brick  floor,  so  that  in  the  very  remote  contingency  of  the 
wood  being  slowly  carbonized,  or  being  set  on  jfire  by  accident,  no  harm  could  come  and 
no  injury  would  be  done  except  to  the  oven.  He  acted  upon  this  suggestion ;  and  it  is 
with  great  satisfaction  that  I  am  enabled  to  give  the  account  of  his  success,  which  has  been 
sent  me  by  the  Rev.  R.  C.  Bedford,  of  Rockton,  111.,  one  of  the  trustees,  together  with 
the  reports  of  one  of  the  instructors  and  his  assistant.  It  may  be  remembered  that  while 
some  of  the  trustees,  Mr.  B.  included,  are  white  men,  the  whole  corps  of  instructors  and 
all  the  pupils  are  of  the  colored  race.  In  this  application  of  economic  principles  to  the 
subsistence  of  a  large  number  of  mainly  adult  persons  congregated  together,  the  colored 
man  is  in  advance  of  the  white  man. 


Tuskegee  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute, 
Mr.  Edward  Atkinson.  Tuskegee,  Ala.,  March  7,  1895. 

Dear  Sir  :  —  At  Mr.  "Washington's  request  I  send  you  the  enclosed  article  on  the 
"  Aladdin  Oven."  I  have  taken  pains  with  this,  and  it  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  me. 
The  oven  is  certainly  a  wonder.  Pork  baked  in  it  seems  like  a  different  meat.  The 
fat  is  like  marrow.  We  had  some  for  dinner  to-day.  I  hope  you  can  make  some  use  of 
this.  We  have  tried  to  meet  your  wants  ;  but  if  we  have  failed,  if  you  will  indicate  it, 
we  will  try  again.  Yours,  (Signed)     R.  C.  Bedford. 


•00 

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^^; — ' 


THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION.  217 


REPORT  ON  THE  ALADDIN  OVEN. 

About  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  while  Mr.  Washington  was  in  Boston,  making  inquiries  in 
regard  to  the  best  and  most  economical  way  of  cooking,  especially  for  large  numbers  of  peo- 
ple, a  friend  suggested  that  he  call  on  Mr.  Edward  Atkinson,  Mr.  Atkinson  became  inter- 
ested, and  advised  a  trial  of  his  "Aladdin  Oven."  He  freely  gave  the  school  the  privilege  of 
making  it,  and  furnished  plans  for  a  trial  oven.  The  matter  was  placed  in  charge  of 
Prof.  R.  H.  Hamilton  ;  and  he  had  a  small  oven  made  for  one  lamp,  as  shown  in  Figures 
1  and  la.  This  oven  is  twenty-six  inches  long  by  seventeen  inches  wide,  and  sixteen 
inches  high.  It  is  made  of  well-seasoned  hard-pine,  one  and  three-fourths  inches  thick, 
covered  inside  with  wire  lathing,  on  furring  strips  of  iron,  one-fourth  inch  in  diameter,  on 
which  is  a  coat  of  lime  mortar,  one-half  inch  thick.  The  table  A  is  made  of  iron,  one- 
fourth  inch  by  one  inch,  and  covered  at  a  and  b  with  galvanized  iron.  A  layer  of  mortar 
(c),  one-half  inch  thick,  all  around  the  bottom  of  the  oven,  serves  to  protect  the  wood  from 
the  heat. 

Mr.  Hamilton  took  this  oven  into  his  kitchen,  and  there  put  it  to  a  practical  test  for 
more  than  a  year.  He  says  :  "  My  experience  with  the  oven  is  satisfactory  in  every  way. 
I  cook  in  it  all  my  meats.  I  find  it  especially  adapted  to  fish,  baked  beans,  our  Southern 
peas,  possum  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  rice  pudding.  It  is  a  great  labor-saver.  Articles 
require  no  attention  from  the  time  they  are  put  in  till  ready  to  take  out,  unless  it  is  some- 
thing that  you  wish  to  brown,  when,  a  little  while  before  taking  out,  the  cover  is  removed 
from  the  vessel  and  a  beautiful  brown  is  given  to  whatever  may  be  in  it.  There  is  no 
perceptible  heat  or  odor.  It  is  small,  and  can  stand  in  a  corner  out  of  the  way.  The 
toughest  meat  is  made  tender,  juicy  and  palatable.  Anything  cooked  on  an  ordinary  stove 
can  be  cooked  in  this  oven.  A  one  lamp  oven  can  be  run  twelve  hours  on  a  quart  of 
kerosene  oil."  Mrs.  Hamilton  says :  "  I  have  baked  bread,  biscuit  and  pies  in  it.  I 
frequently  make  tea  in  it,  heat  dish-water,  and,  at  night,  find  it  a  quick  way  to  warm  the 
baby's  milk  or  heat  a  little  water." 

Encouraged  by  Mr.  Hamilton's  experience,  an  oven  with  two  lamps,  as  shown  in  Figs. 
2,  2a  and  2b,  was  made  for  the  teachers'  kitchen.  This  has  been  in  use  for  six  months. 
It  is  made  the  same  as  Fig.  1,  except  that  the  frame  is  made  of  wood  instead  of  iron.  The 
chain  (d)  is  used  to  support  the  door  (e)  as  a  shelf ;  (z)  represents  the  bar  for  closing  the 
door.  The  oven  is  three  feet  and  three  inches  long,  one  foot  and  five  inches  wide,  and 
one  foot  and  five  inches  deep. 

Mr.  Charles  Diggs,  steward  in  charge  of  the  Teachers'  Home,  says :  "  I  have 
given  the  oven  a  thorough  trial  with  most  excellent  results.  I  can  cook  one  hundred 
pounds  of  meat  at  a  time  with  the  use  of  two  quarts  of  oil.     With   this  oven  I  have  no 


218 


THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 


odor  or  heat,  no  burning  of  the  hands  by  handling  of  the  vessels,  or  bending  over  a  hot 
stove  for  basting  purposes.  Both  teachers  and  guests  are  delighted  with  all  the  food 
cooked  in  the  Aladdin  Oven." 

Mrs.  J.  L,  Kaine,  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  a  lady  of  long  experience  in  cooking,  and  who 
has  given  much  attention  to  the  dietary  of  this  school  and  of  many  public  institutions,  says 
of  it :  "I  very  heartily  endorse  all  that  can  be  said  in  favor  of  the  Aladdin  Oven,  planned 
by  Mr.  Atkinson  for  the  Tuskegee  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute.  The  two  in  use  have 
been  under  my  observation  for  four  months.     In  the  students'  kitchen  a  large  supply  of 


ri5  za 


rie   2  b 


>~2 


beef  is  cooked  daily,  and  comes  from  the  oven  as  deliciously  tender  as  spring  chicken,  and 
with  all  its  flavor  preserved.  I  consider  it  indispensable  where  meats  are  to  be  cooked  in 
large  bulk  and  cannot  be  selected.  The  toughest  parts,  cooked  long  enough,  are  invariably 
tender.     The  oven  once  tried  will  not  be  abandoned.     It  recommends  itself." 

But  the  greatest  and  most  marked  experience  is  with  the  five-lamp  oven,  shown  in 
Figs.  3,  3a,  3b,  and  3c.  It  is  five  feet  and  six  inches  by  one  foot  and  six  inches,  by  one 
foot  and  eight  inches.  The  accompanying  sectional  drawings,  Figs.  3a  and  3b,  explain 
its  construction.  It  is  made  of  hard  pine  as  described  in  Fig.  1.  On  the  wood  are  one- 
fourth  inch  furring  iron  rods  (f)  about  three  inches  apart.  Wire  lathing  (q)  is  nailed  on 
these,  and  a  coat  of  mortar  (h)  one-half  inch  thick  placed  on  the  lath.     The  platform  (m) 


SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 


219 


on  which  the  lamps  rest,  and  the  top  of  the  table  (n)  are  made  of  galvanized-iron, 
strengthened  by  wooden  strips  (g),  one  inch  by  three  inches.  The  vessels  in  which  the 
food  is  cooked  rest  on  a  grate  (k)  of  galvanized-iron,  raised  one  inch  from  the  top  of  the 


Fi 


5  ^ 


\' 


//////////////^  Ooo"-   op«"  ^^<i////////y^$m^<.^^  C\^^^'m^^^////////////K 


iVTT — YTtn ■--^■■■.■; 


\  OoorOpen  J 


Door  Closed 


V\ 


table.     This  grate  is  punched  with  half-inch  holes,  about  four  inches  apart.     Over  each 
lamp  is  a  hole  (p)  two  inches  in  diameter. 

The  piece  (r)  on  Fig.  3  is  dovetailed  into  the  door,  to  prevent  warping.  Drawing 
(s)  of  Fig.  3  shows  method  of  rebating  side-piece  for  door  ;  (w)  of  Fig.  3  is  a  piece  six 
inches  wide  between  the  two  doors.  The  doors  are  hung  on  the  side  for  convenience. 
This  is  used  in  the  students'  kitchen.     It  has  a  capacity  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 


220 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 


of  meat  at  a  baking,  or  enough  for  one  thousand  people.     This  can  be  cooked  with  about 
five  quarts  of  oil. 

Dock  Mitchell,  cook  in  the  students'  kitchen,  an  old-time  negro,  and  deeply  prejudiced 
against  new  methods,  has  become  thoroughly  converted  to  the  Aladdin  Oven.  He  has 
used  the  oven  six  months,  and  this  morning  gave  me  the  following  statement :  "  Last  night 
I  weighed  out  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  beef  for  the  students'  breakfast,  about  six 
hundred  and  fifty  of  them.     I  put  it  into  three  vessels,  seasoned  properly,  and  added  about 


f'S  ^^ 


ris  3c 


one  and  one-half  gallons  of  water  to  each.  I  covered  the  vessels  tightly,  and  about  eight 
o'clock  put  them  in  the  oven.  I  started  the  fire,  No.  2  Rochester  lamps,  turning  them  up 
to  a  moderate  height ;  and  I  then  went  home.  This  mornino-  at  four  o'clock  the  meat  was 
perfectly  cooked.  In  the  dishes  were  nearly  six  gallons  of  very  strong  liquid,  almost  equal 
to  beef-tea.  To  this  I  added  five  gallons  of  water,  a  little  flour  with  a  dust  of  burned 
sugar,  and  I  had  eleven  gallons  of  most  beautiful  French  gravy.  This,  with  the  meat, 
corn-bread  and  coffee,  furnished  a  breakfast  that  was  greatly  enjoyed  by  the  students,  and 
not  a  scrap  of  it  was  wasted.  When  I  came  this  morning  the  outside  of  the  oven  was 
scarcely  warm,  and  there  was  no  odor  from  the  meat  in  the  room.     The  five  lamps  had 


cm 


222  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

used  a  little  over  one  gallon  of  oil."  The  contrast  between  this  and  the  amount  of  wood, 
heat,  smell  and  labor  by  the  old  method,  is  most  striking. 

"We  are  contemplating  a  still  larger  oven  with  side  doors,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3,  instead 
of  in  the  end,  or  a  shorter  oven  with  two  rows  of  lamps  and  door  in  the  end.  Instead  of 
supplying  each  family  on  the  school-grounds,  it  is  thought  that  a  large  central  oven,  in 
which  all  could  cook  their  food  on  a  co-operative  plan,  might  be  of  advantage. 

Beans,  peas,  sweet  potatoes,  onions  and  rice  are  the  only  vegetables  thus  far  cooked 
in  the  oven.     They  are  all  greatly  improved  in  flavor. 

The  oven  can  be  made  exceedingly  plain  and  inexpensive,  or  the  frame  and  oven  can 
be  ornamented  to  any  degree  at  a  corresponding  increase  of  expense.  As  made  here,  very 
plain,  the  one-lamp  oven  costs  about  $5.00 ;  the  two-lamp,  $8.00  ;  and  the  five-lamp, 
$18.00.  This  is  aside  from  the  lamps.  We  have  thus  far  used  the  No.  2  Rochester 
lamp,  costing  about  $1.50  each  at  wholesale. 

The  drawings  and  descriptions  illusti-ating  this  article  were  prepared  by  Prof.  Robert 
R.  Taylor,  Instructor  in  Architectural  and  Mechanical  Drawing  in  the  Tuskegee,  Ala., 
Normal  and  Industrial  Institute. 


REMARKS  ON  THE  FOREGOING  REPORT. 

At  the  time  when  I  sent  this  report  to  the  printer,  together  with  the  plans  and  meth- 
ods of  making  an  oven  of  wood  plastei'ed  inside,  subject  tO  the  positive  warn- 

ing  that  such  an  oven  must  never  be  used  except  on  a  floor  and 
in  a  place  where  in  the  remote  contingency  of  the  wood  becom- 
ing slowly  carbonized  and  then  igniting,  no  harm  can  come  ex- 
cept to  the  oven,  I  did  not  anticipate  the  possibility  of  preparing  an  oven  in  any 
other  way  at  so  low  a  cost  or  of  so  effective  kind ;  it  is  probably  true  that  there  may  not 
be  any  other  method  which  can  be  adopted  at  so  very  low  a  cost.  But  a  recent  invention 
to  which  my  attention  has  been  called  within  the  last  three  months  is  now  being  applied 
to  the  construction  of  ovens  on  the  Aladdin  principle  which  may  make  it  possible  to  con- 
struct large  ovens  at  a  very  low  cost,  and  to  put  the  Standard  Aladdin  Oven  on  sale  at  a 
much  lower  price  than  any  yet  offered.  How  long  this  will  take  and  when  this  can  be  ac- 
complished is  uncertain,  but  the  matter  has  been  taken  up  on  a  commercial  scale  by  strong 
parties. 

In  the  mean  time  I  think  it  judicious  to  call  the  attention  of  all  persons  who  are  in- 
terested in  providing  food  of  a  wholesome  and  nutritious  kind  for  the  inmates  of  asylums, 
reformatories  and  the  like,  to  the  progress  which  has  been  made  at  Tuskegee  on  these  lines. 


THE    SCIENCE    OP   NUTRITION.  22S 

The  cost  of  such  an  oven  is  trifling,  and  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  managers  of  such  estab- 
lishments to  put  such  ovens  upon  brick  floors  under  conditions  which  will  give  absolute 
assurance  of  safety.  It  may  therefore  happen  that  experimental  work  of  this  kind  will  be 
undertaken,  ending  perhaps  in  the  establishment  of  large  ovens  made  on  the  methods  which 
are  now  being  applied  under  my  direction. 

There  are  very  many  places  far  distant  from  centres  of  population  where  ovens  of  the 
kind  described  in  the  Tuskegee  Institute  would  be  of  great  service  —  notably  in  lumber 
camps  and  in  places  where  large  numbers  of  workmen  are  gathered  in  the  construction  of 
heavy  works  where  they  may  not  long  remain,  and  where  such  ovens  could  be  built  upon 
the  ground  protected  only  by  a  shed,  for  the  preparation  of  wholesome  food  of  different 
kinds  for  laborers  who  need  it  most. 

It  may  be  suggested  that  while  the  better  kind  of  oil  lamps  corresponding  to  the 
Bradley  &  Hubbard  type  are  more  easily  cared  for  and  less  liable  to  smoke,  yet  in  many 
places  the  common  kerosene  stove  lamps  fitted  with  metallic  chimneys  will  serve  the  pur- 
pose, and  for  carriage  to  distant  places  would  be  safer.  They  may  be  adjusted  by  experi- 
ence in  the  number  of  lamps  according  to  the  size  of  the  oven. 

Edward  Atkinson. 

Boston,  April  26,  1895. 


ADDITIONAL   TESTIMONIALS. 


[From  a  very  voluminous  correspondence  I  am  permitted  to  make  the  following  selections  by  the 
consent  of  the  writers,  most  of  whose  names  are  subsequently  given.] 

Brookline,  Mass. 
After  a  year's  trial  of  my  Aladdin  I  would  not  give  it  up  for  any  other  mode  of  cook- 
ing, especially  for  the  slow,  long  cooking  of  meats,  fowls   and  grains.     It  is   superior   in 
canning  fruit,  and  saves  half  the  labor  —  particularly  in  making  jams  ;  it  does  all  the  work 
without  the  constant  stirring  over  a  hot  stove  which  was  so  laborious. 

Bedford,  N.  Y. 

I  recommend  to  all  housekeepers  who  have  a  range  or  stove  which  they  must  continue 
to  use,  to  get  an  Aladdin  Oven,  simply  for  cooking  soups  and  preserving  fruit.  It  wil! 
pay  for  itself  a  dozen  times  in  those  two  things  alone.  The  saving  of  time  and  trouble 
in  watching  a  soup-kettle  on  the  stove  and  standing  over  and  stirring  preserves  is  tremen- 
dous ;  and  the  certainty  of  the  result,  with  no  danger  of  scorching  or  over-fast  boiling, 
will  make  both  mistress  and  cook  bless  the  Aladdin  Oven. 

Add  to  this  the  possibility  of  using  tough  meats  and  of  cooking  old-fashioned  dishes 
which  used  to  be  done  in  brick  ovens,  and  the  Aladdin  Oven  becomes  invaluable  merely  as 
a  supplement  to  the  ordinary  stove. 

Woodstock,  Conn. 

As  a  labor-saving  and  time-saving  invention,  the  Aladdin  Oven  is  the  greatest  success. 
The  reason  for  failures  should  be  sought  in  the  cook,  not  in  the  oven.  The  more  intelli^ 
gent  the  cook  the  more  ready  she  is  to  use  the  oven.  I  knew  one  uneducated  Swedish 
cook  whose  prejudice  against  it  was  so  strong  that  she  insisted  even  after  the  oven  had 
been  removed  to  a  rear  piazza  that  the  heat  of  the  lamp  made  her  head  ache.  Her 
French  successor  was  pleased  to  have  the  oven  restored  to  its  place  in  the  kitchen. 

The  reason  the  ovens  do  not  establish  themselves  more  rapidly  is  because  the  range, 
which  will  in  time  be  replaced  by  other  contrivances,  is  still  needed  for  healing  and  laun- 
dry purposes. 

If  the  good  work  done  with  and  by  the  Aladdin  Oven  "  must  be  left  to  the  same  fate 
that  befell  Count  Rumford's  efforts,"  it  means  that  we  shall  take  many  steps  backward, 
and  the  emancipation  of  the  American  woman  will  be  unfortunately  and  unnecessarily 
postponed. 


the  science  of  nutrition.  225 

Charlestown,  West  Va. 
The  Aladdin  Oven  is  a  God-send  to  me.  I  am  a  delicate  woman,  and  the  cooking- 
stove  was  killing  me.  Good  servants  are  hard  to  get,  and  I  don't  want  a  bad  one.  My 
bread  and  meats  brown  delightfully.  My  husband  lights  the  lamp  when  he  first  goes  out 
in  the  morning,  and  I  can  have  breakfast  as  soon  as  I  could  in  the  cooking-stove.  We 
have  oatmeal,  coffee,  hot  bread,  some  meat,  omelet  (which  is  exceedingly  delicate),  potatoes 
or  tomatoes  ;  some  of  these  nearly  every  morning,  with  the  first  three  mentioned  every 
morning. 

Brookline,  Mass. 

I  am  glad  to  say  anything  that  I  can  in  favor  of  the  oven.  My  cook  wants  it  at  all 
times,  and  we  always  bring  it  to  the  sea-shore  with  us.  She  thinks  cooks  are  so  short- 
sighted who  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  learn  how  to  use  it.  She  says  they  might  save  so 
much  labor.  We  use  a  range  also,  and  have  not  done  nearly  all  we  can  with  the  oven  ; 
but  we  would  not  be  without  it  for  anything.  There  ought  to  be  an  Aladdin  Oven  in 
every  house  in  the  country.  It  is  so  nice  to  keep  things  hot  in  at  a  dinner  when  several 
courses  have  to  be  served. 

New  York  City. 
I  have  only  to  remark  that  I  consider  it  beyond  all  question   the  most  perfect  cook- 
ing oven  that  man  has  yet  conceived. 

FROM  A  PHYSICIAN  OE  DUBUQUE,  lA. 

We  have  banished  our  cooking-stove  from  the  kitchen  —  warm  it  by  a  steam  radiator, 
and.  have  a  gas-stove  on  which  a  small  part  of  the  cooking  is  done  and  the  flat-irons  heated. 

The  stove  (Aladdin)  is  apparently  as  good  as  when  purchased,  no  repairs  having  been 
needed.  Fully  two-thirds  of  all  our  cooking  is  done  with  it,  at  a  cost  of  about  ten  cents 
per  week. 

An  old  stove-cover  with  an  opening  in  its  centre  is  supported  on  two  iron  brackets 
screwed  to  the  end  of  our  ice-box,  on  which  a  kettle  for  heating  water  is  used  for  making 
soup,  etc.,  by  a  common  lamp  set  beneath  it.  It  is  kept  burning  all  night,  set  low  as  to 
merely  simmer  the  water  when  making  soups.  A  wooden  tobacco-bucket  is  inverted  over 
the  pot  to  prevent  radiation  of  heat. 

By  these  means  the  saving  of  fuel  is  very  great,  keeping  the  kitchen  free  from  smoke 
and  dust,  and  making  the  work  easy  for  the  cook. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

I  cannot  permit  another  day  to  pass  without  expressing  to  you  my  gratitude  for  the 
valuable  service  which  the  Aladdin  Oven  rendered  me  this  summer.     Having  experimented 


226  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

in  a  most  satisfactory  manner  with  the  oven  for  some  time,  I  thought  I  had  become  fullj 
acquainted  with  its  merits,  but  until  I  was  left  alone  this  summer  to  do  veiy  unexpected 
work  I  had  no  real  idea  of  what  a  relief  the  oven  could  be.  It  was  only  then  that  the 
whole  value  of  your  work  was  realized.  I  knew  then  what  a  blessing  all  your  efforts  had 
been.  I  really  felt  then  the  completeness  of  the  oven,  for  without  it  I  should  have  been 
lost  indeed  iii  an  overwhelming  sea  of  troubles.  If  the  women  of  the  South  could  only 
be  made  to  understand  the  relief  that  the  oven  could  bring  to  them,  I  would  be  so  glad. 
I  wish  there  was  some  way  to  show  them  the  road  to  better  things  through  the  aid  of  your 
incomparable  invention. 

London,  England. 
We  are  sorry  our  verdict  upon  your  stove  is  not  more  favorable.     We  tried  it  in  our 
factory  without  success  ;  we  then  sent  it  to  the  house  of  the  manager  of  our  works  for 
domestic  test,  but  with  no  better  result. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
We  find  the  Aladdin  Oven  the  most  efficient  device  that  we  have  ever  used  for  the 
roasting  of  meats  of  any  sort ;  for  the  cooking  of  bread  or  cake  and  for  the  perfect  cook- 
ing of  all  kinds  of  fruit,  particularly  aj^ples  ;  for  the  baking  of  beans  and  brown  bread 
equal  to  the  old-fashioned  New  England  brick  oven.  We  are  utterly  surprised  that  any 
family  should  be  without  an  Aladdin  Oven,  as  our  experience  has  demonstrated  that  the 
saving  alone  in  the  shrinkage  of  food  in  a  year  is  several  times  the  cost  of  the  oven ;  that 
the  saving  in  fuel  is  probably  more  than  the  cost  of  the  oven  (at  any  rate  a  very  large  per- 
centage on  the  investment)  ;  that  the  saving  in  doctors'  bills  can  only  be  imagined  and  not 
estimated;  that  the  tickling  of  the  palate  is  beyond  description. 

Dade  County,  Fla. 
I  have  often  felt  that  I  should  like  to  express  my  gratitude  to  you  for  the  invention 
of  the  Aladdin  Oven.  For  about  ten  years  we  had  read  all  the  reports  of  your  progress 
towards  its  com2:)letion,  realizing  that  it  was  just  what  we  wanted,  and  determined  to  get 
one  as  soon  as  they  were  perfected.  It  has  quite  filled  our  expectations.  One  great  use  I 
make  of  it  is  in  entertaining.  I  can  prepare  a  dinner  before  time,  arranging  the  food 
(from  a  tall  jug  of  soup  to  the  pot  of  black  coffee)  on  the  shelves  inside,  with  the  plates, 
platters,  etc.,  warming  on  the  table  around  the  lamp.  Then  I  can  make  a  toilet  and  re- 
ceive my  guests  with  the  cheering  thought  that  the  dinner  will  be  there  when  we  are  ready 
for  it  without  any  further  thought.  I  kept  hot  on  its  shelves  toast  and  chocolate  for  sev- 
enty-five guests  during  the  serving  of  an  afternoon  "  tea,"  the  tea  being  made  over  a  smalL 
blaze  in  the  midst  of  the  guests,  and  the  other  refreshments  cold. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION.  227 

"We  have  our  dinner  at  night ;  and  I  prepare  all  the  food  just  after  a  late  breakfast, 
and  start  the  lamp  at  a  low  blaze,  putting  in  the  foods  needing  longest  cooking  early,  add- 
ing the  others  later.  I  can  then  devote  the  day  to  other  occuisations.  This  to  "  the  lady 
who  does  her  own  work  "  is  a  great  desideratum. 

Mattapoisett,  Mass. 
I  thought  the  bread  baked  in  it  most  delicious,  reminding  me  exactly  of  that  bread 
baked  in  an  old-fashioned  brick  oven  when  I  was  a  child. 

Gloucester  City,  N.  J. 
I  would  have  an  Aladdin  Oven  in  my  house  if  it  never  could  be  used  for  any  other 
purpose  than  for  cooking  apples  or  other  fruit.  I  would  have  one  if  it  never  could  be 
used  for  any  other  jjurjDOse  than  for  cooking  brown  bread.  I  would  have  one  if  it  could  not 
be  used  for  any  other  purjoose  than  for  cooking  beans.  I  would  have  one  even  if  it  coidd 
not  be  used  for  any  other  purpose  than  for  cooking  meat,  if  I  couldn't  eat  the  meat  and 
could  only  use  the  gravy.  And  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  your  oven  would  sell 
better  if  it  was  made  more  ornamental  and  sold  only  to  the  rich  for  $75  each. 

Bedford,  N.  Y. 
Boston  brown  bread  baked  in  the  old-fashioned  Rhode  Island  baking  iron  bowls   is  in 
the  Aladdin  done  to  perfection,  better  than  in  any  way  except  the  heated  brick  oven  of  old 
times. 

GUNTERSVILLE,  AlA. 

My  verdict  is  this  :  the  Aladdin  Oven  is  a  perfect  success,  and  is  a  sure  cure  for 
dyspepsia.     I  wish  I  could  tell  all  dyspeptics  that. 

Oakland,  Cal. 
We  got  the  Aladdin  Oven  for  purposes  of  convenience  and  to  save  labor,  rather  than 
for  economical  reasons.     We  have  found  it  perfectly  satisfactory  in  these  resjaects.     The 
economical  side  we  have  not  considered  in  detail,  though  it  is  evident  that  it  is   a  cheap 
method  of  cooking. 

Dalton,  Ga. 

My  Aladdin  Oven  is  a  great  comfort  to  me,  and  I  am  always  glad  to  tell  my  friends 
about  it.  A  large,  meat-eating  family  would  make  it  pay  for  itself  better  than  I  do  ;  but 
I  find  it  invaluable,  esj)ecially  in  hot  weather,  when  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  cook 
over  a  range. 


228  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

The  following  from  a  Harvard  graduate  now  beginning  life  in  another  city,  is  of  in- 
terest. He  has  a  Weaver's  Pail  Oven,  and  in  a  letter  (not  to  myself)  he  makes  the  fol- 
lowing report.  He  says  he  cannot  live  in  a  cheap  boarding-house,  and  he  therefore  cooks 
for  himself  over  a  gas-jet. 

"My  food  for  the  past  week  has  cost  $1.50.  Monday  I  bought  a  piece  of  neck  with 
two  small  bones  for  twelve  cents.  I  tied  the  meat  into  a  compact  lump,  poured  scalding 
water  over  it,  put  it  into  the  cooker,  and  let  it  simmer  all  night  just  covered  with  water. 
In  the  morning  it  was  tender,  even  the  gristle,  but  the  color  inside  was  still  red.  There 
was  a  bowl  full  of  broth  that  jellied  beautifully  when  cold.  I  ate  some  of  the  meat 
sliced  for  dinner  Friday,  and  last  night  I  made  a  stew.  (I  forgot  to  say  that  I  boiled  the 
bones  all  night,  and  got  a  cupful  of  jelly  from  them.)  For  a  stew  I  pared  and  sliced 
three  white  potatoes  and  one  sweet  potato  and  put  them  into  boiling  water,  with  salt  and  half  a 
cupful  of  bone  jelly  and  one  sliced  tomato.  "When  the  potatoes  were  almost  done  I  put  in 
a  cup  of  beef  jelly  and  a  slice  of  beef  cut  fine.  It  was  as  good  a  stew  as  I  ever  ate,  and 
made  two  dinners.     There  is  meat  enough  for  at  least  three  dinners  more,  or  six  in  all." 

Orlando,  Fla. 

We  often  make  coffee  by  putting  it  in  a  jar  with  cold  water.  In  an  hour  it  is  strong, 
clear  and  of  good  flavor. 

For  meat  pies,  cook  the  meat,  seasoned,  in.  an  earthen  dish,  covered,  until  tender,  then 
thicken  the  gravy,  cover  with  a  biscuit  crust,  and  cook  an  hour. 

We  roast  beef  perfectly,  outside  brown  and  inside  rare.  Also  cook  pies  well,  with 
the  under-crust  well  done.     Use  perforated  plates. 

Elmira,  N.  Y. 

I  consider  it  invaluable  in  my  family  for  summer  use,  and  during  the  hot  weather 
have  no  fire  in  the  house,  except  on  Monday  morning  for  laundiy  use.  In  the  winter  we 
need  our  cook-stove  for  heating  the  house,  but  then  I  often  use  the  Aladdin  when  I  want 
to  go  out  in  the  forenoon.  When  I  come  home  the  dinner  is  all  ready  to  put  on  the  table, 
and  on  Sundays  I  put  the  meat  and  vegetables  in  the  oven,  and  find  them  ready  when  I 
come  home  three  hours  afterwards. 

The  quality  of  the  cooking  is  excellent  and  is  produced  with  machine-like  uniformity. 
From  tough  round  steaks  I  have  made  the  most  delicious  stews  and  hashes  that  I  have 
ever  eaten.  Everything  is  improved  in  flavor,  and  the  effect  upon  digestion  is  marked, 
especially  with  respect  to  ducks,  sausages  and  other  foods  which  are  rich  in  fat.  They  are 
more  digestible  and  less  greasy  than  when  cooked  on  a  range. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION.  229 

ToPEKA,  Kan. 

I  consider  the  Aladdin  Oven  one  of  tlie  greatest  aids  to  relieve  weary  housewives 
from  the  drudgery  of  cooking  that  has  been  invented.  It  is  much  safer  than  gasoline,^ 
and,  if  intelligently  used,  saves  time ;  the  house  is  not  filled  with  unpleasant  odors  ;  the 
food  is  much  finer  flavored  and  no  doubt  more  healthful.  Bread  baked  in  it  is  more  like 
that  baked  in  the  old  '.'  out  oven  "  or  "  clay  ovens  "  used  in  Pennsylvania  by  so  many  of 
the  farmers.  I  have  failed  in  baking  biscuit,  and  once  in  cake,  but  know  now  my  lamp 
was  not  powerful  enough.  One  Sabbath  moi-ning  I  had  the  dinner  prepared  and  put  in 
the  oven  to  cook  before  starting  to  church.  My  girl  came  to  me  and  said,  "  What  am  I 
to  do  ?  My  table  is  arranged  and  I  have  nothing  to  do."  I  told  her  to  watch  that  the 
lamp  did  not  "  run  up  "  and  to  sit  down  and  improve  her  mind  by  reading.  I  have  found 
the  Aladdin  Oven  all  you  claim  for  it. 

Baltimore,  Md. 

My  servant  can  go  to  eleven  o'clock  church  every  Sunday  if  she  chooses.  She  can 
(and  does)  leave  the  dinner  in  the  oven  and  come  home  to  have  it  ready  to  serve.  This 
makes  her  envied  of  all  the  others  and  makes  our  flat  considered  a  very  desirable  one  to 
live  in,  and  much  easier  to  get  servants,  which  is  as  much  of  a  question  in  Baltimore  as  it 
is  at  the  North. 

A  correspondent  in  Colorado  after  stating  that  no  difficulties  had  been  met  in  two 
years'  use  of  the  Aladdin  Oven,  adds  that  the  quality  of  the  cooking  has  been  perfectly 
satisfactory,  thoroughly  equable  and  always  reliable,  not  a  single  failure  in  the  two 
years. 

"We  have  made  use  of  tough  meats  to  a  considerable  extent,  though  Colorado  beef 
is  generally  tender.  The  cheap  cuts  cooked  through  the  night  come  out  from  the  oven  a 
most  savory  dish,  enriched  by  all  the  natural  juices  and  leaving  a  quantity  of  appetizing 
gravy  in  the  pan.  The  preservation  of  flavor  and  juices  is  very  noticeable  and  has  been 
remarked  by  guests  who  were  not  aware  that  it  was  Aladdin's  work.  This  eifect  is 
especially  marked  in  the  cooking  of  ham,  fowls  and  game.  We  have  not  remarked  any 
special  efEect  upon  digestion,  as  the  members  of  the  family  have  always  been  blessed  with 
digestive  organs  ample  to  cope  with  the  food-supply  even  if  cooked  in  the  most  primitive 
manner.  We  suggest  as  an  improvement  in  bread-making,  turning  bread  over  in  the 
pans  a  short  time  before  taking  from  the  oven,  thus  securing  a  rich  brown  crust  on  the 
entire  surface." 


1  From  my  experience  as  an  underwriter,  I  regard  gasoline  or  naphtha  wholly  unlit  and  dangerous  in  any 
process  of  cooking.    I  should  regard  gunpowder  safer  if  it  could  be  used.  b.  a. 


230  THE    SCIENCE    OF   NUTRITION. 

FROM  A  SKILEUL  COTTON  MANUFACTURER. 

I  find  that  we  do  well  with  a  variety  of  lamps  —  a  Mammoth  Pittsburgh  for  quick 
work,  the  Bradley  &  Hubbard  lamp  furnished  with  the  oven  for  all-day  work,  and  a  Trench 
burner  with  one  inch,  or  even  half-inch  wick  for  all-night  work,  but  the  oven  should  be 
hot  before  putting  in  the  food  and  putting  under  the  half-inch  wick  for  all-night  work. 
Take  a  common  block-tin  coffee-pot,  a  small  bag  made  of  cheese-cloth  that  will  hold  twice 
as  much  coffee  as  it  is  desired  to  use ;  grind  the  coffee  fine,  tie  it  up  in  the  bag,  pour  in 
the  required  amount  of  cold  water,  put  in  the  oven.  Place  sausages  on  a  grill  or  a  meat 
stew  in  a  jar ;  oatmeal  or  farina  in  a  double  boiler  on  the  bottom  of  the  oven  —  oven 
previously  hot  —  put  the  half-inch-wick  lamp  underneath,  and  go  to  bed.  In  the  morning 
get  up  and  find  a  good  breakfast  ready. 

"We  find  our  food  is  better  —  we  have  not  tried  to  see  on  how  little  we  could  live,  but 
how  well  we  could  live  economically.  Our  food  is  better,  our  roasts  lose  less  in  weight, 
our  bread  is  always  good,  and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  cook. 

Among  other  recognitions  from  various  sources  the  Aladdin  Oven  has  received  an 
award  from  the  Board  of  Judges  of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission  who  passed  upon 
the  exhibits  of  the  late  Exposition  in  Chicago.     The  award  is  in  the  following  terms : 

Award  :  For  a  cooking  apparatus  which  economizes  heat  and  controls  its  variations 
to  a  degree  not  hitherto  possible  in  cooking,  thus  greatly  reducing  the  cost  of  fuel  for  do- 
mestic requirements. 

For  the  application  of  scientific  principles  to  the  preparation  of  food,  especially  in  the 
direction  of  utilizing  the  tougher  and  cheaper  portions  of  meat  and  converting  them  into 
tender,  appetizing  and  nutritious  food,  thereby  materially  reducing  the  cost  of  nutrition. 

For  the  practical  demonstration  of  the  effect  of  moderate  heat,  applied  during  a  con- 
siderable time,  upon  certain  articles  of  food,  in  baking  or  roasting,  giving  tenderness,  and 
jDreserving  or  developing  the  specific  flavors,  and  avoiding  disiccation. 

R.  Hitchcock,  Judge  of  Awards. 

South  Framingham,  Mass. 

If  it  were  possible,  to  construct  a  double  oven  in  which  a  compartment  could  be  used 
for  bread  or  cake  at  the  same  time  vegetables  or  other  moist  substances  were  being  cooked 
it  would  be  an  advantage. 

On  the  whole  we  find  the  oven  a  source  of  great  comfort,  and  would  not  exchange  it 
for  the  best  range  in  use.  For  getting  an  unlimited  supply  of  hot  water  we  use  a  little 
invention  now  supplied  by  the  gas  company,  a  small  coil  of  copper  pipe  enclosed  in  an  iron 
case  over  a  cottage  burner,  the  whole  placed  over  the  sink  and  connected  with  the  water 
service.  The  water  is  heated  continuously  as  it  runs,  and  the  expense  is  hardly  anything. 
In  the  bath-room  we  use  an  "  Acme  "  instantaneous  water-heater  with  good  results. 

"We  trust  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  your  most  excellent  methods  of  cook- 
ing will  become  better  appreciated  by  the  public  at  large. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 


231 


In  addition  to  the  names  given  m  the  oody  of  the  text,  I  am  now  permitted  to  refer 
to  the  following  persons,  whose  experience  in  the  use  of  the  Oven  has  in  part  been  sub- 
mitted in  the  foregoing  extracts,  many  other  names  being  added  to  those  from  whose 
reports  I  have  taken  the  extracts. 


Mrs.  Lilla  A.  Hakknik, 
Asa  Horr,  M.D., 
Mrs.  H.  Lupton, 
Mr.  Norman  Astley, 
Miss  Julia  L.  Dotjbleday, 
Mrs.   Mary  P.  Kay, 
Mrs.  J.  A.  Price, 
Mrs.  James  W.  Riely, 
Mr.  George  S.  Spencer, 
Mrs.  Alice  Davis  Armsby, 
Miss  Anne  C.  Wyman, 
Mrs.  Annette  Pope  Edge, 
Mrs.  James  K.  Thacher, 
Mrs.  W.  T.  Wilson, 
Mrs.  Charles  H.  Stearns, 
Mr.  Lowndes  Taylor, 
Mrs.  Delia  W.  Marble, 
Mrs.  M.  M.  Trumbull, 
Mrs.  a.  W.  Street, 
Mr.  William  D.  Philbrick, 
Mrs.  Abbie  B.  Bastin, 
Mrs.  Clara  Kirchhoffer, 
Mr.  George  W.  Weeks, 
Mr.  J.  A.  Henderson, 
Mr.  W.  E.  Barrows, 
Mrs.  Albert  L.  Butler, 
Mr.  F.  C.  Briggs, 
Mrs.  Hattie  J.  Manley. 
Dr.  George  H.  Clark, 
Mr.  Albert  B.  Williams, 
Mrs.  W.  M.  Cantreel, 
Mr.  Edward  Booth, 
Mrs.  F.  W.  Price, 
Mrs.  Louisa  C.  Bacon, 
Mr.  Andrew  Walkei^, 
Mrs.  Ida  Howard, 
Miss  Anna  Frazier, 


Brookings,  South  Dakota. 

1311  Main  Street,  Dubuque,  Iowa. 

Victoria  Park,  Shipley,  Yorkshire,  England. 

212  West  133d  Street,  New  York. 

908  T  Street,  N.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Gardner  Road,  Brookline,  Mass. 

Highland,  Cal.  (Messina  P.  O.) 

Charlestown,  Jeflferson  Co.,  West  Va. 

St.  Cloud,  Minn. 

Millbury,  Mass. 

93  Pinckney  Street,  Boston. 

238  W.  Lanvale  Street,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Santa  Barbara,  Cal. 

Little  Rock,  Ark. 

Harvard  Street,  Brookline,  Mass. 

West  Chester,  Pa. 

Bedford,  Westchester  Co.,  N.  Y.^^ 

614  Lasalle  Avenue,  Chicago,  Ilk 

Ormond,  Volusia  Co.,  Fla. 

Newton  Centre,  Mass. 

Auburn  Park,  Chicago,  IIL 

Brandon,  Manitoba,  Can. 

Clinton,  Mass. 

Lemont,  Centre  Co.,  Pa.  -, 

1417  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa, 

22  Prospect  Street,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Hampton  Institute,  Hampton,  Va. 

3216  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

W.  Walnut  Lane,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Jenkintown,  Pa. 

Guntersville,  Ala. 

1214  Harrison  Street,  Oakland,  Cal. 

Orlando,  Fla. 

Mattapoisett,  Mass. 

30  Farrington  Street,  London,  E.  C,  England. 

31  Milk  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 

Aurora,  111.  - —    - 


232 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 


IMrs.  James  T.  Fields, 

Mrs.  Ole  Bull, 

Mrs.  Harriett  E.  Hinchliff, 

Mrs.  N.  W.  Lyon, 

Miss  Eadith  DeC.  Heath, 

Mr.  George  E.  Price, 

Mrs.  B.  J.  Handy, 

Miss  E.  Otis  Williams, 

Mr.  Mark  S.  W.  Jefferson, 

Mrs.  E.  E.  Kellogg, 

Mr.  F.  B.  Knapp, 

Mrs.  S.  N.  Castle, 

Mr.  William  Stone, 

Mrs.  J.  Anson  Guild, 

Mrs.  Charles  P.  Shaw, 

Mrs.  Julia  W.  Buck, 

Mrs.  T.  W.  Wilmarth, 

Mr.  J.  S.  Wood, 

Dr.  Charles  P.  Worcester, 

Dr.  F.  W.  Patch, 

Mrs.  Lucia  Fuller, 

Miss  Julia  P.  Marshall, 

(Su2}t.  N.  T.  Infirmary). 
Rev.  Booker  T.  Washington, 
Dr.  Alice  Hall  Chapman, 
Mrs.  a.  T.  Cole  (care  Rev.  Mr.  Cole), 


Boston,  Mass. 

Cambridge,  Mass. 

Rockford,  111.  , 

Topeka,  Kan. 

Jamaica  Plain,  Mass. 

Charlestown,  W.  Va. 

Fall  River,  Mass. 

Park  Avenue,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Lexington,  Mass. 

Battle  Creek,  Mich. 

Duxbury,  Mass. 

Honolulu,  Sandwich  Islands. 

Boston,  Mass. 

Brookline,  Mass. 

Esmont  P.  O.,  Albermarle  Co.,  Va. 

2822  Arapahoe  Street,  Denver  Col. 

Box  75,  Sandersville,  Mass. 

Collin  wood,  Ohio. 

Waltham,  Mass. 

South  Framingham,  Mass. 

Deerfield,  Mass. 

5  Livingstone  Place,  New  York. 

Tuskegee,  Ala. 
Eugene,  Oregon. 
Saugerties,  N.  Y. 


CONCLUSION. 


It  is  imijossible  for  any  one  who  is  occupied  in  tlie  conduct  of  a  large  business  to  give 
that  consecutive  attention  and  study  to  the  development  even  of  his  own  inventions  that  is 
necessary  to  their  rapid  and  consistent  completion.  Neither  can  one  working  under  such 
conditions  even  do  the  work  of  starting  the  problem  and  its  solution  or  compiling  the  data 
of  science  bearing  upon  it,  in  a  concise  and  satisfactory  manner.  There  are  many  jDoints 
of  interest  which  can  only  be  suggested. 

The  writer  has  been  unable  to  determine  the  average  consumption  of  coal  consumed 
in  the  stove  or  range  in  ratio  to  the  quantity  of  food  cooked.  It  will,  of  course,  vary 
greatly,  and  in  the  common  household  practice  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  separate 
the  fuel  consumed  in  cooking  from  that  consumed  in  warming  the  kitchen  and  in  heating 
water  for  circulation. 

The  only  approximate  data  which  I  have  secured  have  been  supplied  by  Prof.  E..  A. 
Fessenden,  of  Allegheny,  Pa.,  who  made  some  comparisons  in  the  amount  of  coal  required 
to  generate  electiicity  for  cooking  as  compared  to  the  ordinary  process. 

The  result  of  his  computation  gave  two  and  seven-tenths  pounds  of  coal  consumed  in 
the  ordinary  process  of  cooking  to  each  pound  of  food  cooked.  My  own  very  rough  and 
ready  computation  in  my  own  household,  had  led  me  to  estimate  the  consumption  of  coal 
for  cooking  only  on  an  ordinary  range  at  over  two  laounds  of  coal  to  each  pound  of  cooked 
food. 

In  the  Standard  Aladdin  Oven  forty  to  sixty  pounds  of  bread,  meat  and  vegetables, 
can  be  cooked  in  three  charges  in  the  period  of  eight  hours,  with  two  to  two  and  one-half 
pounds  of  kerosene  oil  (150°)  of  the  best  quality. 

According  to  the  most  complete  data  now  attainable  in  respect  to  the  cost  of  living  in 
the  families  of  working  men,  the  average  expenditures,  varying  by  sections,  by  cities  and  by 
other  qualifying  conditions,  are  within  the  following  range :  food  material,  45  to  55  ;  cloth- 
ing, 15  to  20  ;  rent  or  shelter,  15  to  20. 

In  the  ordinary  processes  of  cooking  at  a  high  heat  on  the  common  iron  stove  or  range, 
the  waste  of  food-material  and  fuel  is  at  least  equal  to  the  average  amount  paid  for  rent  or 
shelter.  Aside  from  this  actual  waste,  a  large  part  of  the  food  consumed  is  either  rendered 
unwholesome  or  is  deprived  of  a  part  of  its  nutritive  properties  in  the  common  practice  of 
cooking. 


234  THE    SCIENCE    OF    NUTRITION. 

I  have  claimed,  and  I  herewith  submit  the  proofs,  that  by  the  adoption  of  the  methods 
advocated  in  this  treatise,  and  by  the  use  of  apparatus  made  consistently  with  the  instruc- 
tions given,  at  least  one-third  of  the  average  expenditure  for  food  can  be  saved,  and  this 
lesser  quantity  will  yield  more  appetizing  and  better  nutrition.  I  also  claim  that  any 
persons  who  possess  the  intelligence  to  do  this  may  then  double  the  sum  now  paid  for  rent 
or  shelter,  and  thereby  solve  the  most  difficult  social  problem  now  pending  without  any 
aggregate  increase  in  their  annual  expenditures. 

Had  I  not  devoted  all  my  leisure  time  for  many  years  to  the  study  of  what  is  known 
as  political  economy,  but  which  should  be  called 

Social  Science, 

I  might  not  have  been  led  to  take  up  this  practical  application  of  scientific  jjrinciple  to  the 
problem  of  nutrition. 

Although  often  contested,  the  dogma  of  Malthus,  that  population  tends  to  gain  on  the 
means  of  subsistence,  and  the  theory  of  rent  presented  by  Richardo,  with  a  statement  of 
an  alleged  law  of  diminishing  returns  from  land  in  ratio  to  the  work  put  upon  it,  have  ex- 
erted a  profound  influence  upon  English  thought  and  upon  legislation. 

To  my  own  mind  all  these  postulates  seem  to  be  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  order  of 
nature.  In  searching  for  evidence  either  to  sustain  or  refute  them,  it  became  manifest 
that  since  these  theories  were  presented  there  has  been  a  constant  gain  in  the  means  of 
subsistence  in  the  ratio  to  population ;  no  one  has  yet  discovered  the  potential  in  produc- 
tion of  a  single  acre  of  land  anywhere  and  no  one  has  yet  been  able  to  measure  with  any 
accuracy  the  return  from  land  in  ratio  to  the  energy  imparted  to  it  by  man. 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  these  three  propositions  rest  upon  the  error  of  considering 
land  as  of  the  nature  of  a  mine  subject  to  exhaustion.  Modern  science  has  proved  that 
land  is  a  mere  instrument  for  the  conversion  of  certain  elements  of  nutrition  from  one 
form  into  another.  The  supply  of  energy  which  can  thus  be  converted  is  immeasurable. 
The  chief  elements  in  the  nutrition  of  the  soil  are  lime,  potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  The 
developed  sources  of  these  elements  are  practically  unlimited.  The  princij^al  element 
aside  from  these,  of  which  the  supply  seemed  more  doubtful,  is  nitrogen.  The  recent  dis- 
covery of  the  source  of  nitrogen  developing  in  what  have  long  been  known  as  soil- 
renovating  plants  of  the  leguminous  order,  renders  it  practically  certain  that  the  bacteria 
which  live  upon  these  plants  may  draw  from  the  atmosphere  and  convert  to  the  nutrition 
of  the  plant  and  then  of  the  soil,  a  practically  unlimited  supply  of  nitrogen  disassociated 
by  them  from  the  air. 

It  follows  that  if  such  are  the  facts  the  somewhat  baleful  concepts  of  English 
political  economy,  which  have  given  it  the  name  of  a  dismal  science,  are  wholly  disproved, 


THE    SCIENCE    OP   NUTRITION.  235 

and  all  the  postulates  of  this  science  must  be  recast  upon  the  conception  that  while  the 
consumption  of  food  is  limited  the  sources  of  supply  are  unlimited. 

With  this  series  of  propositions  in  view,  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  conversion 
of  food  material  into  nutritious  food  in  the  process  of  cooking,  has  assumed  a  place  in  my 
own  mind  of  which  very  few  persons  have  as  yet  any  conception.  It  becomes  an  integral 
and  essential  link  in  the  conservation  of  energy  by  which  mankind  lives  and  moves  and 
has  its  being. 

Lack  of  time  and  the  heavy  cost  of  resetting  type  have  forbidden  the  complete  re- 
composition  of  this  somewhat  ill-digested  treatise. 

Edward  Atkinson. 
Brookline,  Mass.,  1895. 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


[Becipes  will  be  found  in  a  special  index  follomng  the  general  index,] 


PAGB 

Abel,  Mrs.  Mary  Hinman,  73, 120 

director  New  England  Kitchen,  197 

Lomb  prize  essay  winner,  22,  91 

report  on  Aladdin  Oven  for  family 

cooking,  91-101 

Acroline,  how  produced,  how  avoided,  56 

Actual  dietary  for  one  day  (Mrs.  Rich- 
ards), 150-152 
Addenda,  fourth  edition,  52 

first  edition,  108 

Additional  suggestions,  115 

Aladdin  Kitchen,  112-114 

Aladdin  Oven,  advantages  of,      36,  39,  58,  109 

additional  suggestions,  115-117 

construction  of,  92 

description  of,  52-56 

develops  flavors,  58 

economy  of,  58, 109 

for  family  cooking  (Mrs.  Abel's 

report),  91-101 

future  manufacture  of,  6 

general  directions  for  use,  43-45 

glass,  56,  57 

how  it  does  its  work,  58 

improvements  on,  52-56 

latest  types,  52-56 

maximum  heat  of,  92 

Miss  Daniell's  work  with,  82 

patents  on,  6,  13,  18,  52 

principle  of,  3,  7,  35,  42 

quick  work  in,  60 

rules  for  use  (Mrs.  Abel),  91 


Aladdin  Oven,  special  instructions  for  use,   46 

standard,  42,  57 

substitute  for  cook-stove,  110 

time  for  cooking  in,  84 

timetable  (Mrs.  Sterling),  85 

what  it  does,  43 

what  it  is,  41-43 

what  is  demanded  of  it,  108 

Alcohol,  as  fuel  in  body,  123 

American  standard  of  nutrition,  23,  26 

by  classes,  27 

too  concentrated  (Sir  Henry 

Thompson),  30 

Animal  food  expensive,  139 
Art  of  cooking  (Popular  Science  Monthly),  11 

Asbestos  Paper  Company,  57 

paper  lagging,  6,  57 

Atkinson  Cooker,  6 
Atwater,  Prof.  William  O.,          22,  23,  120, 122 

quoted  from,  124 

Bad  feeding,  cost  of,  33 

Baking  bread,  35,  46 

in  Aladdin  Oven,  93 

fish  in  Aladdin  Oven,  47 

Bean,  soy  or  soja,  16,  17 
Beef  broth  (New  England  Kitchen),  51 
Billions  spent  for  food,  32 
Biscuits,  to  bake,  60 
Boiling  in  Aladdin  Oven,  45 
Braising  in  Aladdin  Oven,  47,  96 
Bread  baking,  35,  46,  93,  94 
kneader,  35 


238 


GENERA.L    INDEX. 


PAGE 

Bread  making,  35,  46 

prices  of,  25 

raiser,  35,  46,  114 

with  Vienna  compressed  yeast,  48 

Broiling  in  Aladdin  Oven,  47 

Browning  in  Aladdin  Oven,  44 

failures  and  remedies,  115,  116 

meat  and  fish  in  Aladdin  Oven,  61 

Cake  in  Aladdin  Oven,  47,  97 

California  pump,  story  of,  15 
Calorie,  defined,                                  24, 122,  130 

unit  of  nutrition,  24,  122 

unit  of  working  capacity,  24 

Calories  needed  daily,  139,  143,  145 

to  the  pound  (diagram),  144 

Canning  fruit  in  Aladdin  Oven,  100,  101 

some  objections  to,  196 

Carbo-hydrates,  23 

use  in  body,  123 

compounds,  129 

Carnegie,  Andrew,  contribution  of,  34,  198 
Case  bread-raiser,  35,  46,  1 14 
Century  Magazine  (Atwater's  articles), 

120,  122 

Chafing  dish  cooking,  51 

Cheap  dinners,  30 

dishes,  104 

Cheapest  food,  135 

Cheese,  digestible  when  cooked,  63 

dishes  in  Aladdin  Oven,  97 

Church,  Prof.  A.  W.,  22 

man's  ration,  186 

Claims  of  author  for  oven,  39 

Classes  of  nutrients,  129 

Coal,  waste  of,  21 

Cod  liver  oil,  fat  pork  a  substitute,  81 

Coffee,  use  in  system,  123 

Columbia  College,  lecture  at,  19-41 

Comparative  nutrition,  189-195 

Comparative  expensiveness  of  foods,  139-146 

(tables),  140,  141 

Comparison  of  nutrient  values,  138 

of  wheat  flour  and  potatoes,  142 

Composition  of  common  foods,  128 
of  food  materials,  128 


PAGE 

Composition  of  food  materials  (tables ),131, 132 
Complexity  in  cooking,  114 

Constants  in  dietaries,  173 

Conclusions,  233 

Cookery  books,  merits  and  demerits,        36,  37 
Cooking,  art  of,  11 

good,  defined,  38 

in  five  hours,  82-90 

Cooking  laboratories,  32 

pail,  workman's,  13,  20,  82,  96,  109 

plain  lessons  in,  48-50 

taught  in  one  lesson,  7, 13 

thermometer,  12 

Co-operative  kitchens,  5, 197 

Corn-meal,  different  sorts,  62 

Cost  of  food,  in  Boston,  May,  1895,  171 

of  food,  13,  20,  31,  32 

of  liquors  consumed,  31 

of  living,  13,  20,  31,  32,  136 

ratio  to  nutritive  values,  136 

three  thousand  calories  various  foods,  145 

Count  Rumford,  10,  14,  163 

Cow-pea,  16,  17 

Creole  cookery-book,  114 

Dal  and  other  pulse,  17 

Daniell,  Miss  Maria,  73,  120,  198 

report  on  pail-cooking,  82-90 

recipes  by,  85-90 

Diagrams,  Aladdin  Ovens,  10,  54,  55 
Dietaries,  actual,  by  classes,  125 
actual  and  standard,  presented  graph- 
ically, 126 

actual  for  one  day,  150-152 

American,  by  classes,  27 

for  corpulence,  124 

of  college  students,  159-162 

standard,  by  classes,  124 

thirty  days,  26,  171-188 

Digestibility  of  foods,  133 

Dinner,  Aladdin  Oven  menus  for  (M.  H.  A.), 

98-100 

for  twelve,  costing  sixty-one  cents,         30 

in  Aladdin  Oven,  48-50 

seven  courses,  at  thirteen  cents  per 

head,  30 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


239 


PAGE 

Dinner  verj  cheap, 

30 

Dishes  used  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

48,49 

Drying  fruit  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

101 

Economic  food, 

135 

Economy  in  food  materials, 

102-104 

in  fuel, 

86,  109 

true  and  false, 

135 

Eggs,  American  consumption  of. 

31 

in  Aladdin  Oven, 

96 

Egleston,  Prof.  Thos., 

34,  198 

Emmet,  Dr.  M.  Addis,  on  fat  pork. 

81 

Energy,  power  of  work. 

152 

potential  wasted, 

34,  166 

Etablissements  Duval, 

6 

Experiment  on  a  potage,  E.  A., 

114 

Extractives,  use  in  system, 

123 

Eactory  boarding-house  food, 

31 

Family  life,  unit  of  civilization, 

39,40 

Eat  compounds. 

129 

pork,  substitute  for  cod  liver  oil, 

81 

Fats,  how  affected  by  high  heat. 

56 

use  in  body, 

123 

Fish  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

95 

Flavors  developed  by  Aladdin  Oven, 

58, 109 

Flour,  cyclone  process, 

107 

excellent  sort. 

107 

Graham, 

59 

wheat,  compared  with  potatoes. 

142 

Fly  escape  for  kitchen, 

113 

Food,  as  related  to  wages. 

121 

animal,  expensive. 

139 

average  composition  of. 

127 

bill,  national, 

31 

comparative  expensiveness  of  (table). 

140,  141 

cost  of, 

13,  31,  32 

daily  needs. 

123 

defined, 

58 

digestibility  of  (table), 

133 

expensive  vs.  economical, 

139 

half  cost  of  living. 

136 

how  much  required. 

122, 123 

how  used  in  human  body, 

123,  124 

materials,  composition  of,       128 

,  131, 132 

nutritive  value  of  (tables). 

131,  132 

Food  of  school  children  and  students,  154-162 

potential  energy  in  various  kinds, 

131,  132,  144 

preparation  of,  34 

problem,  importance  of,  3-5 

proportions,  23,  146 

question  related  to  industry,  119,  121 

selection  of,  22 

source  of  power,  121,  122 

supply  of  different  countries,  121 

true,  58 

values  (table),  150 

vegetable,  cheap,  139 

wholesale  preparation  of,  196-201 

why  needed,  122 

Fruit,  Aladdin  Oven,  98 

canned  in  Aladdin  Oven,  100,  101 

dried  in  Aladdin  Oven,  101 

Frying  in  Aladdin  Oven,  71 

true  method.  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  72,  73 

Fuel  value  of  foods,  130,132,144 

Game  in  Aladdin  Oven,  48 

of  twenty  questions,  7 

Gas  used  with  Aladdin  Oven,  45 
Glass  ovens,  56,  57 
Good  cooking  defined,  38 
health,  evidences  and  essentials  of, 

152,  153 
Graham  flour,  59 

Grains  in  Aladdin  Oven,  94 

Griddlecakes,  to  cook,  60 

Grilling  in  Aladdin  Oven,  60 

Gumption,  proportion  needed,  13,  14 

Havemeyer,  Theodore  A.,  contribution  of,     34 

164 

152,  15.S 

45 

38 

117 

109,  llf 

102,  103 

117 
198 
169 


Health,  better  standard  needed, 

good,  defined. 

Heat  of  Aladdin  Oven, 

wasted, 

Heater,  St.  Louis,  kitchen,  etc.. 
Heating  water  for  household. 
Hominy,  varied  uses  of, 

see  also  under  recipes. 

Hot  water  not  needed  for  dishes, 
Hull  House, 
Ideal  ration. 


240 


GENEEAL    INDEX. 


Illustration  "  Aladdin  Oven  dinner,"  40 
Importance  of  food  problem,  3-5,  32 
Income,  per  cent,  expended  on  subsistence,  136 
Infernal  machine,  kitchen  stove,  15,  42 
Instructions  for  using  Aladdin  Oven  (gen- 
eral), 43-48,  115-117 
Instructions  for  Aladdin  Oven  dinner,  48-50 
needed  for  spending  not  earning,  193,  194 


Invalid  rations, 

168 

Jacketing  for  boilers,  etc.. 

6,57 

Kerosene  oil  for  dishes, 

117 

Kitchen,  Aladdin,  described. 

112,  113 

New  England, 

5,34 

range  an  infernal  machine, 

15,42 

range  not  needed  in  summer. 

110 

Peoples', 

196 

Laboratory  or  Aladdin  Kitchen, 

112 

fittings, 

113 

Lagging,  Asbestos  paper  for  boilers, 

6,57 

Lamps, 

42 

care  of 

110 

(Mrs.  Abel), 

92 

stove  or  heater. 

110 

Lentils,  food  value  and  cooking, 

105,  106 

Lesson  in  plain  cooking. 

48-50 

Life  ration,                                166,  168 

,  175,  189 

Liquors,  cost  of. 

31 

Living,  cost  of,                                  20,  28,  31,  32 

on  $250  a  year. 

194 

well  at  $1  per  week. 

28 

Lomb  prize  essay  (Mrs.  Abel), 

22 

Meal,  corn, 

62 

Meats,  cheap  cuts. 

104 

in  Aladdin  Oven, 

96 

recooked. 

96 

Menus  for  dinners  (Aladdin  Oven), 

98 

for  lunch, 

105 

Mineral  matters  in  food, 

129 

Model  kitchen  described, 

112,  113 

National  food  expenditures. 

31 

New  England  Kitchen, 

5, 34,  195 

in  New  York  and  Chicago,  198 

Night  cooking,  117 
Nitrogen  in  pulse,  16 
must  be  secured  at  less  cost,  192 


PAGE 

Nutrients,  classes  of, 

129 

digested,  proportion  of, 

134 

for  25  cents,  tables,                  140 

,  148,  149 

principal  kinds. 

128 

percentages  of,  in  various  foods, 

131,  132 

Nutrition,  comparative. 

189 

in  different  dietaries  (graphic). 

126 

science  of. 

19,  119 

standards  of, 

23 

Objections  to  canning, 

196 

Office  boy  prepares  dinner, 

36 

Oil,  kerosene  for  dishes. 

117 

heater  (St.  Louis), 

117,  118 

stoves. 

84,  111 

Oven,  Aladdin  (see  Aladdin), 

compared  with  oil  stove. 

111 

cylinder, 

109 

hot  water, 

37 

ordinary,  defects  of. 

38,41 

pail.  Miss  Daniell's  report  on, 

82,90 

portable. 

90 

Eumford, 

14 

tests  (Miss  Parloa), 

84 

Pail-oven, 

13,  20,  90 

— —  Booking  time  of. 

90 

Miss  Daniell's  report  on. 

82,90 

Papin  soup-digester. 

14 

Pastry  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

47,64 

Pavey,  Dr., 

23,63 

People's  kitchens, 

196 

Percentage  of  income  spent  for  subsistence 

136 
Phipps,  Mr.  Henry,  Jr.,  contribution  of, 

34,  198 
Pierce,  Mr.  Henry  L.,  contribution  of,  198 

Pies  in  Aladdin  Oven,  98 

Playfair,  Sir  Lyon,  23 

Portable  oven,  90 

Potatoes  compared  with  wheat,  142 

Potential  energy  in  various  dietaries,  126 

obtained  for  25  cents  (tables)        141 

of  food,  130 

of  various  foods  (tables),       131, 132 

wasted,  34 

Preface  to  fourth  edition,  3 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


241 


PAGE 

PAGE 

Preparation  of  food, 

35 

Eumf  ord  Kitchen  Leaflet,  No.  7, 

154, 161 

wholesale, 

191 

No.  14, 

163, 171 

Principle  of  Aladdin  Oven, 

3 

Saloon  for  sale  of  soup, 

56 

Professional  man's  ration, 

170 

Sauces,  importance  of. 

37 

Prophylactic  value  of  food, 

163, 171 

Sauteing  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

44,  69, 60,  69 

Proportion  of  nutrients  digested. 

134 

School  buildings  on  new  plans, 

195 

of  nutrients  defective. 

143 

Science  of  cooking, 

12,  37 

Proteids  in  oats. 

22 

of  nutrition,  treatise  on, 

19 

Protein  compounds, 

129 

Scotch  bill  of  fare. 

143 

cost  per  pound  (table), 

141, 142 

Selection  of  food. 

22 

in  animal  and  vegetable  foods, 

139 

Shaw,  Mrs.  Quincy  A., 

197 

in  use  in  body, 

123 

Shop-girls'  oven. 

109 

Puddings  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

98 

Simmering, 

37,47 

Pulse,  nitrogen  in. 

16 

Slow  cooking,  merits  of, 

60, 60,  63,  91 

varieties  of, 

17 

Soy  or  soja  bean. 

16 

Purchasing  power  of  50  cents. 

172 

Soup  stock,  Aladdin  Oven, 

47,95 

of  25  cents. 

173 

Soup  "  saloon," 

56 

Purpose  of  author's  work. 

6 

Standard  Aladdin  Oven, 

57 

Quantity  of  food  needed  daily. 

123 

Standards  of  nutrition, 

23 

bought  for  25  cents  (table),          140 

(American), 

24,  26,  27 

Eatio  of  nutritive  value  to  cost  of  food,      136 

(scientific). 

147 

Eations,  common,  invalids'. 

168 

Standing  armies  and  food  question,              191 

compared, 

190 

Stewing,  Aladdin  Oven, 

96 

-. —  for  a  man  (Church's), 

186 

Stimulants,  why  craved, 

56 

for  thirty  days. 

25,26-30 

Stove  lamp  or  heater. 

110 

ideal  with  solid  food, 

169 

Story  of  the  kitchen. 

198 

ideal  with  liquid  food. 

169 

Students'  luncheons. 

154-161 

life. 

166, 189 

Subsistence,  per  cent,  of  income 

spent  for,  136 

life,  compared. 

190 

Tea,  use  in  system, 

123 

rich  in  proteids. 

170 

Testimonials, 

202-232 

work. 

168, 189 

Therapeutic  value  of  food. 

163 

for  professional  man, 

170 

Thermometer,  cooking. 

12 

Eecipes  (see  Special  Index). 

Thirty  days'  rations, 

25,  26-30 

for  cooking  wholesale. 

199-201 

Thompson,  Benjamin  (Count  Eumf  ord),  10,  14 

Relation  of  food  to  wages. 

121, 191 

Elizabeth, 

198 

Eice  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

94 

Sir  Henry, 

22,  30,  95 

not  a  perfect  food, 

16, 143 

Time  for  cooking  in  Aladdin  Oven,                44 

varieties  of, 

16,17 

Time  table  (Mrs.  Sterling's), 

85 

Eichards,  Mrs.  Ellen  H,                22, 

23,  34, 120 

Toasting  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

44,61 

on  science  of  nutrition, 

122 

Trade-mark  "  Aladdin  Oven," 

6,  18,  52 

Eumf ord  Leaflet,  No.  7,  by. 

154 

True  food  defined, 

58 

No.  14,  by, 

163 

Twenty  questions,  new  game  of. 

7 

Eoasting  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

47,  61,  96 

Variables  in  dietaries. 

173 

Eumf  ord,  Count, 

10, 14, 163 

Vegetable  food  cheap. 

139 

oven. 

14 

Vegetables  in  Aladdin  Oven* 

47,97 

242 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


Voit,  Professor, 

"Wages  as  related  to  food  supply. 
Warming  water,  Aladdin  Oven, 
Waste  in  cooking, 

of  coal, 

of  potential  energy. 

Watts,  Dr.  George,  on  food  products  of 

India, 
Wheat  flour  compared  with  potatoes, 


PAGE 

PAGE 

23 

Wholesale  preparation  of  food  (Mrs. 

121 

Eichards),                                       196-201 

46,  100 

Williams,  Dr.  M.,  Chemistry  of  Cookery,      63 

32,  33 

Work  ration,                                     168.,  175,  189 

21 

Workingman's  dinner  pail,                         13,  20 

34,  193 

Miss  Daniell's  report,        82-90 

f 

soon  perfected,                       109 

16 

earnings,  half  for  food,                           144 

142 

food  standard,                                        138 

INDEX    TO    RECIPES. 


[Those  marked  "  E.  A."  have  been  developed  under  the  direction  of  the  Author  ;  those  marked  "  M.  D."  are 
furnished  by  Miss  Maria  Daniell ;  those  marked  "  M.  H.  A."  are  given  by  Mrs.  Mary  Hinman  Abel.] 


PAGE 

PAGE 

All  sorts  of  things,  E.  A., 

71 

Bird's-nest  pudding,  E.  A., 

76 

Apple  pudding,  E.  A., 

75 

Biscuits  to  bake,  E.  A., 

60 

Apples  witti  pork  chops,  E.  A., 

66,74 

rye,  E.  A., 

77 

Asparagus  on  toast,  E.  A., 

75 

soda,  M.  H.  A,, 

94 

Bacon  with  eggs,  E.  A., 

60 

Box  pudding,  E.  A., 

69,70 

with  hominy,  E.  A., 

63 

Boiled  dish,  E  A., 

79 

Baked  chicken,  E.  A., 

74 

fowls,  E.  A., 

66 

Baking  bread, 

m 

Bread,  E.  A., 

64 

Batter  pudding,  E.  A., 

76 

M.  D., 

89 

Beans  baked,  E.  A., 

62 

New  England  Kitchen, 

201 

stewed  with  corned  shoulder,  M. 

D.,       87 

and  raisin  cake,  E.  A., 

70 

Beef  a  la  mode,  M.D., 

86 

baking,  M.  H.  A., 

93 

(Murrey), 

90 

brown,  E.  A., 

62,77 

broth  (New  England  Kitchen), 

51,  199 

Case's  health, 

64 

brown  fricassee,  M.  D., 

88 

corn,  E.  A., 

77 

corned,  E.  A., 

74 

gems,  E.  A., 

59 

oatmeal  and  tomato,  M.  D., 

85 

general  directions. 

46 

roast  with  potatoes,  E.  A., 

74 

Graham,  E.  A., 

77 

roll,  M.  D., 

86 

making,  E.  A., 

106 

No.  2,  M.  D., 

86 

rolls,  Parker  House,  E. 

A., 

68 

shin  of,  soup,  E.  A., 

73 

rye. 

64 

skirt  steak,  M.  D., 

86 

Sir  Henry  Thompson's, 

M.  D., 

65 

spiced,  E.  A., 

75 

thin  Indian,  E.  A., 

78 

steak,  E.  A., 

74 

toasted,  E.  A., 

61 

steak  pudding,  M.  D., 

87 

white,  E.  A., 

77 

stew,  M.  D., 

86 

whole  meal,  in  flat  cakes 

,  from  ' 

'Food 

(New  England  Kitchen), 

200 

and  Feeding," 

65 

with  gravy,  E.  A., 

74 

whole  meal,  with  yeast. 

from 

'  Food 

with  mushroom  gravy,  E.  A., 

74 

and  Feeding," 

65 

with  oysters,  E.  A., 

104 

Breakfast  dishes,  E.  A., 

59-61 

Birds,  Aladdin  fashion,  E.  A., 

78 

Broiled  chicken,  E.  A., 

59,74 

broiled,  E.  A., 

59 

Broth,  beef.  New  England  Kitchen, 

51,  199 

potted,  E.  A., 

78 

from  fowls,  E.  A., 

65 

244 


INDEX    TO    KECIPES. 


Brown  bread,  E.  A., 

fricassee  of  beef,  M.  D., 

pudding,  E.  A., 

Browning  fish,  E.  A., 

meats,  etc.,  E.  A., 

Cabbage  and  sausage,  E.  A., 
Cake,  Aladdin  Oven, 

bread  and  raisin,  E.  A., 

crispy,  E.  A., 

gingerbread,  E.  A,, 

Shrewsbury,  E.  A., 

spice,  E.  A., 

sponge,  E.  A., 

thin  molasses  gingerbread,  E.  A. 

thin  sugar  gingerbread,  E.  A., 

Calf's  heart,  M.  D., 
Case's  health  bread, 
Celery  sauce,  E.  A., 

stewed,  E.  A., 

with  cheap  meats,  E.  A., 

Cheese  dishes  in  Aladdin  Oven,  M.  H.  A. 

pudding,  E.  A., 

Cherries  preserved  in  Aladdin  Oven, 
Chicken,  Aladdin  fashion,  E.  A., 

baked,  E.  A., 

broiled,  E.  A., 

potted,  E.  A., 

roast,  E.  A., 

with  mushroom  or  celery  sauce,  E. 

Chops,  mutton,  E.  A., 

pork  with  apple,  E.  A., 

Chowder,  fish,  E.  A., 

Clams,  seaside  fashion,  E.  A., 

Codfish  and  cream,  E.  A., 

in  milk,  M.  T)., 

with  oysters,  E.  A., 

Coffee,  E.  A., 

Southern  method, 

Consomme  of  fresh  vegetables.  Sir  Henry 

Thompson, 
Corn-bread,  E.  A., 

New  England  Kitchen, 

green. 

Corned  beef,  E.  A., 

— •  shoulder,  with  stewed  beans,  M.  D., 


PAGE 

PAGE 

62,77 

Cottage  pudding,  E.  A., 

76 

88 

Cracker  pudding,  E.  A., 

76 

68 

Cranberries,  M.  H.  A., 

98 

61 

Cream  sauce,  E.  A. 

74 

61 

Crispy  cakes,  E.  A., 

68 

79 

Crust  for  four  pies,  E.  A., 

79 

97 

Cusk  a  la  creme,  E.  A., 

61 

70 

Cutlets,  veal,  E.  A., 

69 

68 

Daub,  Creole  dish. 

105 

77 

Duck,  E.  A., 

87 

89 

Washington  style,  with  addenda,  E 

A.  67 

77 

Dinner  menus,  Aladdin  Oven, 

98,  100 

77 

Eggs,  baked,  M.  H.  A., 

97 

68 

boiled,  M.  H.  A., 

97 

68 

in  Aladdin  Oven, 

96 

87 

with  ham  or  bacon,  E.  A., 

60 

64 

Fish,  a  la  creme. 

61 

66 

balls.  New  England  Kitchen 

200 

75 

chowder,  E.  A., 

62 

104 

clams,  seaside  fashion,  E. 

A., 

62 

.,      97 

for  breakfast,  E.  A., 

60 

63 

halibut,  E.  A., 

75 

101 

k  la  creme,  E.  A., 

61 

78 

in  Aladdin  Oven,  M.  H.  A 

> 

95 

74 

with  oysters,  E.  A., 

104 

59,74 

Fowls  roasted  or  boiled. 

m 

78 

Fricassee,  brown  of  beef,  M.  D. 

88 

49 

Fruit,  drying  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

M.  H.  A 

,     101 

A.   66 

how  to  preserve,  E.  A., 

79,80 

59,94 

to  cook,  Aladdin  Oven,  M. 

H.  A., 

98 

66 

to  preserve. 

104 

62 

Gander  minced  on  toast,  E.  A., 

00 

62 

Gingerbread,  E.  A., 

77 

64 

thin  molasses,  E.  A., 

68 

87 

thin  sugar,  E.  A., 

68 

104 

Glaze,  M.  D., 

89 

'78 

Grape  juice. 

104 

58 

Graham  bread,  E.  A., 

77 

T 

Grains  in  Aladdin  Oven, 

94 

90 

to  cook, 

70 

77 

Griddlecakes,  E.  A., 

60 

201 

Ground  rice  pudding,  E.  A., 

76 

104 

Grouse  potted,  E.  A., 

78 

74 

roast,  E.  A., 

67 

,       87 

with  bread  sauce. 

67 

INDEX    TO    RECIPES. 


245 


PAGE 

Haddock,  fresh,  in  tomato,  M.  D., 

87 

in  tomato  sauce,  M.  D., 

88 

Halibut  a  la  creme,  E.  A., 

61 

Ham  cooked  whole,  E.  A., 

63 

or  bacon  with  eggs,  E.  A., 

60 

Hash,  Sam  Weller,  E.  A., 

62 

Hasty  pudding,  E.  A., 

76 

fried,  E.  A., 

77 

"  Hog  and  hominy,"  E.  A., 

63 

Hominy  plain,  E.  A., 

78 

with  duck  or  grouse,  E.  A., 

67 

with  duck,  Washington  style,  E. 

A.,      67 

with  pork,  E.  A  , 

63 

ten  recipes  for  using,  E.  A., 

102,  103 

Indian  cake,  thin,  E.  A., 

78 

pudding,  E.  A., 

62,76 

pudding,  M.  D., 

88 

pudding.  New  England  Kitchen, 

201 

Lentils,  E.  A., 

105 

vegetable  soup, 

105 

Macaroni,  E.  A., 

67 

Meats,  Aladdin  Oven,  M.  H.  A., 

96 

Menus,  Aladdin  Oven  dinners,  M.  H.  A 

.,  98-100 

lunch, 

105 

dinner  for  12,  costing  61  cents,  E 

A.,     30 

seven-course    dinner    at   13  cents  a 

head,  E.  A., 

30 

Molasses  gingerbread,  E.  A., 

68 

Mush,  general  rule,  E.  A., 

60 

Mushroom  gravy  for  beef,  E.  A., 

74 

sauce,  E.  A., 

m 

Mutton  chops,  E.  A., 

69,94 

stew,  M.  D., 

87 

warmed  over,  E.  A., 

71 

with  tomato,  M.  D., 

87 

Oatmeal  in  bread, 

66 

mush,  E.  A., 

60 

pudding,  M.  D., 

88 

with  beef  and  tomato,  M.  D., 

85 

Omelet,  E.  A., 

61,69 

M.  H.  A., 

97 

Oyster  plant,  E.  A., 

75 

Pancakes,  E.  A., 

61 

Parker  House  rolls,  E.  A., 

68 

Partridge  with  sauce,  E.  A., 

66 

Pastry  in  Aladdin  Oven,  E.  A., 

64 

Pease,  green. 

104 

Pease  pudding,  M.  D., 

87 

soup.  New  England  Kitchen, 

200 

Pickled  pig's  feet,  M.  D. 

85 

tripe,  M.  D  , 

85 

Pig's  feet  a  la  vinaigre,  M.  D., 

85 

Pie-crust,  E.  A., 

79 

Pies  in  Aladdin  Oven,  M.  H.  A., 

98 

Plum  pudding.  Thanksgiving,  M.  D., 

88 

without  eggs,  M.  D., 

88 

Poor  man's  pudding,  E.  A., 

76 

Pop  overs,  E.  A., 

76 

Pork  chops  smothered  in  apples,  E.  A., 

66 

corned  shoulder  of,  with  stewed  beans. 

M.  D., 

87 

Porridge,  E.  A., 

60 

Potage  a  la  Atkinson, 

114 

Potatoes  roasted  with  beef,  E.  A., 

74 

stewed  with  sausage,  M.  D., 

86 

Potted  birds,  E.  A., 

78 

chicken,  E.  A., 

78 

grouse,  E.  A., 

78 

Poultry,  Aladdin  fashion,  E.  A., 

78 

browned,  E.  A., 

61 

Preserving  fruit  with  or  without  sugar, 

E.  A., 

79 

,  80 

Pudding,  apple,  E.  A., 

75 

batter,  E.  A., 

76 

bird's-nest,  E.  A., 

76 

box,  E.  A., 

69 

,  70 

bread,  E.  A., 

49 

brown,  E.  A., 

68 

,  76 

cottage,  E.  A., 

76 

cracker,  E.  A., 

76 

ground  rice,  E.  A., 

76 

hasty,  E.  A., 

76 

Indian,  E.  A., 

62 

,76 

M.  D., 

88 

New  England  Kitchen, 

201 

oatmeal,  M.  D., 

88 

pease,  M.  D., 

87 

poor  man's,  E.  A., 

76 

plum,  without  eggs,  M.  D., 

88 

steak,  M.  D., 

87 

246 


INDEX    TO    RECIPES. 


Pudding,  Thanksgiving,  M.  D., 

rice.  New  England  Kitchen, 

Quail  with  bread  sauce,  E.  A., 

with  sauce,  E.  A., 

Rice,  ground,  pudding,  E.  A., 

pudding,  New  England  Kitchen, 

Roast  beef,  E.  A., 

chicken,  E.  A., 

veal,  E.  A., 

Roasted  wheat  cakes,  E.  A., 
Roots  and  tubers,  to  cook, 
Rolls,  Parker  House,  E.  A., 
Rye  biscuits,  E.  A., 

bread,  E.  A., 

Salt  codfish  in  milk,  M.  D., 

with  cream,  E.  A., 

Sam  Weller  hash,  E.  A., 
Sauce,  bread,  for  grouse,  E.  A., 

celery,  E.  A., ' 

cream,  E.  A., 

mushroom,  E.  A., 

Sausages,  E.  A., 

stewed  with  potato,  M.  D., 

with  cabbage,  E.  A., 

with  hominy,  E.  A., 

Scones,  whole  meal,  Thompson, 
Sheep's  heart,  M.  D., 
Shrewsbury  cake,  E.  A., 
Skirt  steak,  M.  D., 
Sponge  cake,  E.  A., 
Spice  cake,  E.  A., 


AGE 

PAGE 

88 

Spiced  beef,  E.  A., 

75 

201 

Soup,  Aladdin  Oven  excellent  for,  M.  H. 

A.,  95 

75 

E.A., 

7a 

66 

shin  of  beef,  E.  A., 

73 

76 

stock,  to  make,  M.  D., 

89 

201 

Stewed  beans  with  corned  pork,  M.  D., 

87 

74 

celery,  E.  A., 

75 

49 

mutton,  M.  D., 

87 

74 

sausage,  M.  D., 

86 

61 

Stock,  to  make,  M.  D., 

89 

70 

Sugar  gingerbread,  E.  A., 

68 

68 

Thanksgiving  plum  pudding,  M.  D., 

88 

77 

Toasting  bread,  E.  A., 

61 

64 

Tomato  and  beef  with  oatmeal,  M.  D., 

85 

87 

sauce  for  haddock,  M.  D., 

88 

64 

soup,  New  England  Kitchen, 

199 

62 

with  haddock,  M.  D., 

87 

74 

with  mutton,  M.  D., 

87 

66 

Tripe  a  la  creme,  M.  D., 

85 

66 

a  la  vinaigre,  M.  D., 

85 

66 

Veal  cutlets,  E.  A., 

69 

60 

roast,  E.  A., 

79 

86 

Vegetables,  M.  H.  A., 

97 

70 

soup,  M.  H.  A., 

97 

63 

New  England  Kitchen. 

199 

65 

to  cook. 

70 

87 

Venison  warmed  over,  E.  A., 

71 

69 

White  bread,  E.  A., 

77 

86 

Wheat  cakes,  roasted,  E.  A., 

61 

77 

Whole-meal  bread  in  flat  cakes. 

65 

77 

with  yeast, 

65 

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\       \-i3i^i:T-    AND   por/\Yoe§ 


ADVERTISEMENTS, 


THE  following  advertisements  have  been  solicited  for  publication  in  this  book  in 
order  to  enable  me  to  give  the  readers  the  direction  of  those  to  whom  they 
may  apply  for  the  apparatus,  materials  and  for  some  of  the  food  products 
with  which  I  have  dealt  in  the  body  of  the  work.  They  are  not  paid  for 
and  no  paid  advertisement  would  be  admitted  into  this  volume,  nor  have  I 
admitted  an  advertisement  of  any  article  which  is  not  sold  by  persons  of 
repute,  whose  statements  in  regard  to  it  are,  in  my  judgment,  consistent  with 
the  facts.  It  is  in  order  to  save  myself  from  a  heavy  burden  of  corre- 
spondence heretofore  put  upon  me  in  giving  these  directions,  that  I  have 
adopted  this  method  of  distributing  the  information. 


The 

ALADDIN     OVEN, 

Invented  by  EDWARD  ATKINSON,  LL.D.,.Ph.  D. 


COOKS   FOOD   IN   A   SCIENTIFIC   flANNER. 


SEND   FOR   DESCRIPTIVE    PRICE-LIST  TO 


^       ^  THE    ASBESTOS    PAPER    CO, 

I  ^  Sole   Manufacturers. 


Sole  Manufacturers, 

71  Kilby  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 


JONES,  McDUFFEE  &  STRATTON, 

SOLE   DISTRIBUTERS. 


THE 


Trench   Lamp   Burner. 


Awarded  a  Gold  Medal  and  Special  'Diploma  at  Mechanics  Exhibition,  Boston,  1893. 


Patented  Dec.  31,  1889;   nay  23,  1893;   May  23,  1893.    Patent  allowed  November  17,  1893. 


This  burner  differs  essentially  from  all  other  burners  by  being  constructed  with  a 

DOUBl-E    KIR    SPKCE: 

an  upper  air  space  or  chamber  which  contains  the  flame,  and  a  lower  air  space  which  contains  the 
wick  tube  The  flame,  instead  of  burning  upon  the  top  of  the  wick  tube,  and  heating  the  oil,  as  it 
does  in  all  other  burners,  burns  upon  a  perforated  floor,  elevated  above  the  wick  tube.  This  floor, 
which  forms  the  seat  of  the  flame,  separates  tlie  upper  from  the  lower  air  space,  and  completely  cuts 
off  the  heat  of  the  flame  from  the  wick  tube  and  oil  supply. 

Constructed  on  this  truly  scientific  principle,  the  patentee,  Mr.  Charles  Trench,  claims  the  follow- 
ing advantages,  which  no  one  has  been  able  to  controvert  : 

1.    There  is  not  the  least  odor  when  the  flame  is  turned  down  low  and  used  all  night. 

For  illuminating  it  excels  all  other  burners. 

The  flame  has^io  tendency  to  climb  and  smoke. 

The  wick  is  never  charred  inside  the  wick  tube. 

The  wick  tube  never  becomes  incrusted  with  burnt  oil. 

After  the  light  is  turned  down  the  flame  is  instantly  extinguished. 

It  is  far  more  durable  and  consumes  less  oil  than  any  other  burner  in  use. 


•»!• 


•I^ 


TESTS 

I.  Suddenly  extinguish  the  flame,  remove  the  chinuiey  and  hold  the  wick  tube  between  the  thumb  and  finger. 
No  unpleasant  heat  can  be  felt,  though  the  lamp  may  have  been  burning  several  hours. 

II.  Turn  down  the  flame  low,  and  leave  the  lamp  buruuig  in  a  small  room  all  night;  there  will  not  be  the  least 
odor  in  the  morning. 

The  above  burners  are  adapted  to  all  flat-wick  lamps  burning  kerosene  or  coal  oil,  and  require  no  unusual  lamp, 
wick  or  chimney. 

JONES,  ncDUFFEE  &  STRATTON:     ^»^*"^hSl?afe f-S^R^tSr^' 

120  FRANKLIN   STREET,    BOSTON. 


The    PRESCOTT-STANYAN 

BREAD    niXER   AND    KNEADER. 


Two  sizes  are  now  ready, 

No.  1  With  Seven-Quart  Pan.        No.  2  With  Eight-Quart  Pan. 


EACH    WORKS    BEST   WITH    PAN    HALF-FULL   OF     FLOUR 
YET   EITHER   WILL   HANDLE   A    QUART    MORE   OR   LESS. 


PRICE     OF=     EITHER     SIZE 


$3.00. 


nanufactured  by    Edwill    PreSCOtt,  8  Medford  St., 

BOSTON,   MASS. 


Thermometers. 


Thermometers  for  Aladdin  Ovens,  which  are  expressly  made  to  be 
used  with  them  and  particularly  adapted  for  cooking  with  these 
ovens,  may  be  had  of  Thomas  Hall  &  Son,  19  Bromfield  Street, 
Boston,  Mass.  On  request  a  circular  giving  details  and  prices  will 
be  sent. 

THOMAS    HALL   &    SON. 


The  NEW  ENGLAND  KITCHEN, 

485  TREMONT   STREET,      =      =      BOSTON. 
Open  from  10  A.  M.  to  7  P.  M. 


Beef  Broth  for  Invalids 

18c. 

a  quart. 

Corn  Soup 

12c.  a  quart 

Beef  Stew 

12c. 

Evaporated  Milk  . 

7c.  hlf.  pint 

Vegetable  Soup       .... 

12c. 

Mutton  Stew 

10c.  a  pound 

Tomato  Soup 

12c. 

Fish  Balls      . 

20c.  a  dozen 

Pea  Soup 

10c. 

Health  Bread 

5c.  a  loaf. 

Fish  Chowder          .... 

16c. 

White  Bread 

5c.        " 

Clara        " 

16c. 

Cold  Meats    . 

rionday,  Vegetable  Soup,  Pea  Soup,  Fish  Hash.* 
Tuesday,   Beef  Stew,  Tomato  Soup,  Macaroni  with 

Cheese,  Mutton  Stew.* 
Wednesday,    Clam   Chowder,    Pea    Soup,    Aladdin 

Hash.*  Fish  Balls.* 


Thursday.   Beef  Stew,    Vegetable  Soup,    Vegetable 

Hash.* 
Friday,  Fish  Chowder,  Pea  Soup,  Creamed  Codfish,* 

Potato  Soup. 
Saturday,  Beef  Stew,  Tomato  Soup,  Baked  Beans, 

Brown  Bread,  Fish  Balls.*  *  P.  M. 


The  American  Kitchen  Magazine. 

''A  monthly  magazine  whose  pages  are  filled  with  the  cream  of  domestic  science."  —  Union  Signal. 

"  Handsome  to  look  at  and  eminently  usefulin  its  contents  ....  deserves  a  general  reading."  —  TAe  Congre- 
gationalist,  Boston. 


This  handsome  Domestic  Science  Monthly  covers  every  department  of  the  home  life. 

Brings  the  methods  of  the  technical  schools  into  the  household, 

Is  progressive  and  authoritative. 


Edited  and  Published  by- 


MrS.  MARY  J.  LINCOLN,  Mrs.  ESTELLE  M.  H.  MERRILL   and   MiSS  ANNA  BARROWS. 


ADDRESS,  Home  Science  Publishing  Co., 


Price,  $1.00  per  Year. 

BOSTON,    MASS. 


Miss    ANNA    BARROWS, 

New  England  Kitchen  flagazine, 

Lectures  on  Food,  Cookery  and  Domestic  Science.  BOSTON,  HASS. 


Hyde's  Gluten  Whole  Wheat  Flour 

Is  especially  rich  in  the  germ,  gluten  and  phosphates  of  the  wheat  and 
is  the  healthiest  food  that  can  be  made  from  wheat,  being  invaluable  as 
a  food  for  growing  children  and  people  suffering  from  stomach  troubles. 
It  makes  a  Brown  Bread,  rich  in  the  natural  flavor  of  the  wheat,  deli- 
cious Gems,  Muffins,  Biscuits,  Griddle  Cakes,  etc. 

Put  up  in  Barrels,  49  and  10  pound  Sacks  and  98  and  49  pound 
Wooden  Caddies. 

THESE  CADDIES  ARE  STRONG  FLOUR  CHESTS  AND  WILL.  LAST  FOR  YEARS. 
SOLD  AT  A  REASONABLE  PRLCE. 


If  you  cannot  buy  this  flour  of  your  grocer, 

order  it  direct  from  tiie  mill.  Manufactured  by 


LOUIS    H.   HYDE,    Joliet,  III. 

4 


BEECH   NUT   HAM 


COMBINES  THE  MELLOWNESS  OF  THE  ENGLISH,  AND  A 
NUTTY,  APPETIZING  FLAVOR  NOT  FOUND  IN  ANY  OTHER 
BRAND 


Used  by  .  .  . 

THE  WALDORF,  WINDSOR  AND  IMPERIAL, 
and  Other  Leading  Hotels  in  New  York  City. 


ADDRESS  IMPERIAL   PACKING   CO., 

CANAJOHARIE,   N.  Y. 


ROYAL   POWDERED  50AP 

Is  manufactured  by  a  novel  process, 

and  is  of  great  purity  and  efficacy- 
It  will  not  in  the  slightest  degree  injure  the  fibre 

of  silk,  linen,  cotton,  or  woollen  fabrics. 


ROYAL  POWDERED  SOAP  CO., 

5  Central  Wharf,  Boston,  Mass. 

The  Stflyvesant  Yentilating  Fresh-Air  Heater. 

AN  efficient  and  economical  apparatus  burning  kerosene  or  gas,  and  independent  of  chimney 
connections.  It  is  adjusted  to  the  window,  whence  it  draws  tlie  out-door  air  by  means  of 
gravity,  heats  it  without  contact  with  the  flame,  and  delivers  it  into  the  room  with  great 
rapidity.  The  products  of  combustion  are  removed,  and  the  spent  atmosphere  is  constantly  replaced 
by  warmed  pure  air  at  an  easily  regulated  temperature.  The  Stuyvesant  Heater  raises  the  tempera- 
ture quickly,  and  heats  well  the  north  and  east  rooms  of  exposed  houses.  It  is  used  in  hospitals, 
offices,  and  libraries  and  sleeping  rooms  of  private  dwellings. 


Please  address  inquiries  to 

The  NEW  ENGLAND  VENTILATING  HEATER  CO., 

31    STATE  STREET,   BOSTON. 

5 


BREAD   RAISERS. 


THE  factory  in  which  the  Case  Bread  Raiser  has  been  made  was  lately  burned  and  is  not  to  be 
rebuilt.  I  am  therefore  unable  to  give  any  business  address  for  this  apparatus.  I  submit  a 
plan  for  a  substitute  process. 

The  development  of  yeast  requires  a  humid  heat  at  ninety  degrees  Fahrenheit.  In  the  Case 
Bread  Raiser  a  uniform  temperature  was  secured  by  placing  in  tlie  bottom  of  a  case  made  of  wood  a 
tin  pan  exposed  on  the  under  side,  holding  a  small  quantity  of  water.  Above  this  pan  was  placed  a 
perforated  shelf,  on  which  the  bread-pan  rested,  the  door  being  glazed  so  as  to  enable  the  process  of 
raising  to  be  watched.  Underne.Tth  the  pan  a  very  small  lamp  was  adjusted  and  kept  so  as  to 
maintain  the  temperature  within  the  bread  raiser  at  ninety  degrees. 

Since  I  cannot  give  a  direction  for  the  purchase  of  the  bread  raiser  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to 
substitute  a  method  of  raising  bread  which  has  been  invented  by  a  southern  lady.  I  have  tried 
placing  a  pan  of  water  on  the  top  of  one  of  the  new  Ovens,  covering  it  over  with  one  of  my  glass 
Ovens.  The  only  difficulty  in  the  way  may  be  too  great  a  heat  when  the  Oven  itself  is  in  use,  but 
when  the  Oven  is  not  in  use  with  the  larger  lamp  a  small  lamp  can  be  placed  underneath  it,  giving  a 
measured  heat  by  experiment  which  will  serve  the  purpose. 

It  is  not  even  necessary  to  take  quite  as  much  pains  unless  one  desires  to  leave  the  sponge  for  a 
given  time  to  take  care  of  itself.  If  a  very  low  platform,  perforated,  is  placed  directly  over  the  top  of  tlie 
Oven,  tlie  bread-pan  put  upon  that  and  then  covered  with  a  damp  cloth  or  another  pan,  the  bread 
may  be  raised  in  a  measured  time  with  entire  success,  but  it  will  be  a  little  more  at  the  mercy  of  the 
weather  than  when  the  pan  is  covered  so  as  to  practically  exclude  tlie  outer  air. 

As  my  southern  correspondent  is  evidently  an  expert  in  making  good  bread  and  her  husband 
commends  the  Aladdin  Oven  as  worth  more  than  its  cost  for  bread  only,  I  venture  to  give  her 
comments  upon  my  previous  directions  for  bread  raising  and  her  recipe  for  making  bread.  She  has 
also  made  some  valuable  suggestions  for  improving  the  Oven  as  it  has  lately  been  made.  Fortunately 
for  my  own  credit,  these  improvements  had  already  been  adopted  in  the  new  type  of  Oven  which  is 
now  on  the  market. 

I  should  have  incorporated  this  information  and  these  recipes  in  the  body  of  the  work,  but  they 
came  too  late  except  for  inclusion  among  the  advertisements. 

"  The  top  of  the  Oven  itself  is  too  hot  for  the  proper  raising  of  dough.  Much  of  the  sweetness 
of  bread  is  lost  by  keeping  bread  at  a  too  high  temperature  while  raising. 

"  In  your  directions  for  raising  bread  in  the  Aladdin  Oven,  you  say,  on  page  85,  '  Science  of 
Nutrition ' : 

6 


"'If  you  have  no  bread  raiser,  place  a  pan  of  warm  water  on  the  lower  shelf  of  Oven,  place  the 
dough  on  middle  and  upper  shelves.  Light  the  lamp  and  keep  the  flame  as  low  as  possible ;  yet 
burning.  Close  the  Oven  and  in  about  three  hours  the  dough  will  be  raised.'  [I  call  your  attention 
to  the  words  underscored.]  Perhaps  in  a  cold  climate,  in  cold  weather,  that  might  do.  I  tried  it  for 
one  hour  with  disastrous  results.  Frozen  dough  can  be  warmed  and  worked  and  made  good,  but  a  too 
hot  dough  never. 

"In  my  experience  it  is  never  safe  to  raise  dough  in  the  Oven  unless  one  can  watch  the  process. 
I  sometimes  use  it  when  I  am  in  a  hurry  for  bread.  I  have  by  careful  watching,  mixed,  raised  and 
had  six  loaves  of  bread  baked  in  Aladdin  within  six  hours  from  the  start. 

"  The  bread  needs  in  process  of  raising  exclusion  from  the  outside  air  and  a  warm  humidity. 
Therefore  I  put  a  pan  of  water  on  bottom  of  Oven  and  leave  the  lamp  burning  only  long  enough  to 
warm  the  Oven,  boil  the  slight  quantity  of  water  and  iill  Oven  full  of  steam.  Then  I  turn  the  lamp 
out.  If  bread  does  not  raise  fast  enough,  I  re-light  the  lamp  only  long  enough  to  again  fill  the  Oven 
with  steam.  If  I  am  raising  the  dough  in  the  pans  for  baking,  I  let  them  raise  a  little  in  the  Oven, 
then  take  them  out,  cover  closely,  and  put  on  top  of  Oven.  The  Oven  being  warm  will  need  the  full 
heat  of  lamp  only  until  the  bread  has  finished  raising. 

"  I  think  the  bread  I  make  with  a  rather  stiff  dough  much  superior  to  that  made  by  your  recipe, 
calling  for  soft  dough.  There  is  so  little  evaporation  in  the  Aladdin  that  a  soft  dough  is  really  not 
needed.  As  I  have  baked  over  1,000  loaves  of  bread  in  my  Aladdin,  and  we  consume  in  our  family  of 
six  15  or  16  loaves  a  week,  I  have  had  some  experience  in  bread  making. 

" '  Pillsbury's  Best 'is  the  flour  for  the  Aladdin  Oven.  I  have  tried  many  kinds.  The 'Entire 
Wheat  Flour '  makes  a  most  delicious  brown-bread  if  baked  in  the  Aladdin." 


Aladdin  Bread. 

4  quarts  flour, —  "  Pillsbury's  Best." 

2  tablespoons  granulated  sugar. 

1  tablespoon  salt. 

1  cake  yeast.      Pleischman's   compressed   or  Warner's    safe   yeast,  dissolved   in  a   little   warm 
milk  or  water. 

Enough  warm  skim  milk  to  make  a  rather  stiff  dough. 

Mix  and  work  well. 

Dampen  all  over  the  exposed  surface  (to  keep  out  the  air)  with  warm  water  and  cover  closely. 
I  use  metal  covers  in  addition  to  bread-cloth.  Tight  covering  makes  quick  raising  if  the  yeast  is  good. 
Let  dough  raise  to  double  its  bulk,  work  down  and  let  raise  again  —  then  mold  into  four  or  five 
small  loaves  — put  into  pans  not  over  three  inches  high.  Dampen  tops  and  let  raise  double  its  bulk. 
Light  Aladdin  lamp  when  putting  to  raise  in  the  pans,  turn  moderately  high.  When  bread  is  ready 
to  bake,  turn  up  light  full  height.  I  leave  my  bread  in  the  Oven  three  hours.  That  makes  the  crust 
too  hard  for  most  people.  In  about  an  hour  change  loaves  not  only  from  top  shelf  to  bottom,  but 
from  left  to  right,  and  vice  versa.  Take  out  bread  when  brown  enough  and  rub  all  over  with  butter, 
milk  or  water  and  cover  with  bread-cloth  until  cold.  This  bread  is  much  better  after  it  is  twelve 
hours  old. 

7' 


Date  Due 

f) 

BOSTON  COLLEGE 


3  9031    01207104  9 


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AUTHOR 


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SH^I3 


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